PEANUT BUTTER + BANANA GREEN PROTEIN SHAKE

When you take my favorite food in the world [ peanut butter ], combine it with a sweet, ripe banana and a handful of greens (you know, to make it semi-healthy and give it a pretty color), you have yourself a tasty breakfast, snack or post workout shake. Allow me to introduce you to the Peanut Butter Banana Green Protein Shake aka my new favorite drink. You probably even have all of the ingredients already!

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Oh hey friends! Long time no chat!!

In case you don’t follow me on Instagram (where I post pretty much daily), or Snapchat (follow semihealthnut for behind-the-scenes stuff like stuff I eat and Zoey Fluffy Butt videos)…Dave and I just moved into our very first house!

 

We officially have a house!! Pinch me! ? And if we look a little tired in this picture it’s because we are haha. Tired but excited! ?? Now it’s time to pull down some wallpaper (and by some I mean in every. single. room.) and paint allthethings!! ? #thecakeshouse #ourfirsthome #thisishappening #semihealthyfamily

A photo posted by Amanda DeWitt ? (@semihealthnut) on Mar 15, 2016 at 8:57am PDT

It’s been crazy and disorienting and amazing and exciting at the same time.

Oh and we decided to have my brother and his BF stay with us Easter weekend AKA the first night we both stayed at our new house. They were awesome house guests, but I am a nervous nellie and wore myself out a bit getting everything ready and trying to be a good hostess. Whatever that means.

 

Happy Easter! ?? Hope you were able to get outside and play today! ? #wearefive #movehappy #imasemihealthnut #semihealthyfamily

A photo posted by Amanda DeWitt ? (@semihealthnut) on Mar 27, 2016 at 4:54pm PDT

Then I spent a whole week trying to unpack the entire house and create some sort of order to the chaos.

I guess what I’m saying is…that’s why I’ve been a tad absent around these here parts. We are slowly but surely unpacking all of our crap (excuse my French, but man we have a lot of crap) and it’s feeling better and better to call this place home.

I even managed to unpack my laptop and arrange a little desk (aka tv tray and folding chair). Somehow Dave convinced me to ditch my old desk in Minnesota in favor of buying a new one here, but I don’t think that’s super high on the priority list now…so tv tray(s) it is!

The kitchen is also coming along, which means it’s looking less and less like a whirling dervish tore through and spit out random boxes and dishes and painting stuff and tools.

Soooo I will be back at recipe making soonly.

I do, however, have a couple in the bank and this green smoothie that tastes like a blended peanut butter and banana sammich is the first one I’m sharing.

Peanut Butter Banana Green Protein Shake

Typically I’ve been drinking my fruits at work since I do coffee + smoothie catering. All I do is bring my Skoop B protein powder and add it to a fruit smoothie (or blended coffee drink if it’s early in the morning).

But when I was packing up all of my ish at my dad’s house, I realized I had a TON of frozen bananas chillin’ in the freezer. (<-get it? chillin? I’m funny dammit.)

And some spinach sitting in the fridge, threatening to go bad.

And I always have peanut butter…

So the delightful Peanut Butter Banana Green Protein Shake was born. It’s super simple and super tasty while packing in greens to your day.

One of the things I LOVE about smoothies is that you can get so many nutrients in a tasty package. I’m weird and don’t like certain textured fruits and veggies, but when you throw them in a blender you have a cold creamy dessert-like drink filled with nutrients.

Plus it’s pretty easy to freeze fresh fruits and add them to smoothies later.

Which is exactly what I do when bananas are going bad.

The best part about this is that when bananas are going bad, they get super sweet and delicious which is perfect for blending up in smoothies or even for thawing and baking into things.

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Banana Funfetti Protein Cookies

You may already know that I have some sort of nut butter every day if I can help it. Usually smeared on some toast for breakfast with a side of coffee and cream.

This is why when I was looking around the kitchen for stuff to put in the smoothie I realized that all it really needed was banana and peanut butter. And a large handful of spinach to make it green and semi-healthy.

I also threw in a scoop of Skoop B protein powder to keep me fuller longer and boy did it ever work.

Semi-healthy note: Try adding fat or protein to your smoothie (or both!) to keep you feeling fuller longer. If it’s straight fruit and veggies, there tends to be a sugar high, which comes with a crash and then you’re hungry in an hour. BUT I’ve noticed if I add some sort of protein and/or fat, I can last a good 3-4 hours. Nutrition is fun. You can also just pair it with a fat or protein like a handful of nuts or a stick of string cheese. (am I the only one over the age of 10 who still eats string cheese?)

[Tweet “Tip: try adding fat or protein to your smoothie to keep you feeling fuller longer. #imasemihealthnut”]

Peanut Butter Banana Green Protein Shake Recipe

Ingredients:

8 oz almond milk

handful spinach

1/2 frozen banana

1-2 ice cubes

1 TBS peanut butter

2 scoops Vegan Protein powder*

How To:

Throw everything into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy.

You can garnish with banana chips (which are fun to scoop out and eat with a spoon) and a sprig of spinach if you’re feeling fancy. Bonus points if you use cute little glasses you found in the Target $1 aisle and paper straws (which are more cute than useful).

*I use Skoop B Protein because it’s the tastiest vegan protein I can find and it makes me feel awesome. You can also use whey protein or a bit of yogurt for protein but the consistency will be a little different.

 Try this smoothie out ASAP and let me know what you think! Have a great week, friends!

[Tweet “I can’t wait to try this Peanut Butter and Banana Protein Shake! #imasemihealthnut”]

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