Obviously you can use all kinds of fruit, and even vegetables if you’re weird like that (kidding! No hate comments, please!), to make a smoothie, but in my opinion, the banana is key.
As is peanut butter. Obviously, because peanut butter makes everything that much better.
And flax, well, texturally it’s a little weird but suck it up for the health benefits.
So the key players are:
Plus milk and ice, but I think we all know what they look like.
And then I like to add half a scoop of protein powder because I think it thickens it. This is the brand I buy, because it’s the cheapest, but also because it’s America’s #1:
I think the fact that it’s whey and not soy makes a difference. My hypothesis here is that the whey from the protein powder is already friends with the whey from the milk, and so they get along well together and that makes a good, thick smoothie. Whether this is true, I have no idea. I’ve never tried soy because Chris told me that whey is better. And because I consider protein powder to be one of the few things boys know about, I listened. But if you’re vegan, I’m sure soy would work.
I don’t really measure, because that makes extra dishes and extra dishes make me unhappy, but I’m pretty good at eyeballing, so here’s the rough recipe:
4 - 5 ice cubes
1 banana
3/4 cup skim milk
1 T peanut butter
1 T flax
1/2 scoop protein powder
So you start with the ice, banana and milk in the blender and give that a whirl. Then, put the speed on pretty low and use the little opening at the top to add the peanut butter, protein powder, and flax while it’s blending. Then walk away for a few minutes and let it go, like this:
I think that if you let it blend for a few minutes, the air will incorporate, making it thicker and more voluminous. Also, sometimes I like to add cinnamon, and if the banana isn’t very ripe, I might add a squirt of honey or maple syrup.
And there you go. THE END.
Hemp protein powder is awesome. =)
This smoothie must keep you full for ages!! Peanut butter makes everything awesome.
Oh super sweet - I feel so honored for a full blown post about smoothie making! A bit confused on when the PB goes in the blender (right away or through the top later) because you list it twice. I feel like an idiot for not having a clue on the process here, but I am very excited to try it!
I am completely intrigued by your flax with blueberries. I have tried frozen blueberries before, but I think I was just trying to hide the taste of yogurt (which I hate, but try to suck it up and include for the active culture benefits).
Your line about boys knowing protein powder made me laugh out loud (in my real office cubicle, oh how I long for a couch in here!) so thanks to Chris for being in the know. I will have to investigate other protein powder options as I have been disappointed in the nasty one my mom gave me (who later told me she gave it to me because she thought it was nasty too - gee thanks mom) and the soy one I chose at the co-op. Will be on the lookout for whey and #1!
Thank you Ari for showing your smoothie trade secrets with me and the internet, so sorry for all the battery/camera troubles it took to get here!
Yikes! I fixed it, sorry. The first peanut butter was supposed to be milk. Did I eat flax with blueberries? I don’t really like blueberries…
Anyway, good luck with the smoothie.
Thanks for the clarification on the PB!
Your bag of flax reads “with blueberries”.
Did you grind your flax? I’ve seen the kind you have and I think it is whole, rather than ground, which means you wouldn’t get all the nutritional benefits from it. If you ground it yourself, how did you do it?
I was going to ask if you’ve ground your flax as well. Because humans can’t digest the outer shell of the flax seed, so we don’t break down any of the good stuff in it…and it passes right on through unchanged.
badger reader - are you from wisconsin?
arielle - thanks for the smoothie recipe! sounds so so yummy. i have yet to put PB in a smoothie cause of fears of the taste getting lost. by the way, do you not have a dishwasher? i was totally anti extra dishes back when i didn’t have one and a lot of city apartments don’t. if so, i’m so so so sorry. at least you are still cooking - i was the queen of frozen meals so all i had to wash was a fork.
OK, I’m comin’ over for a peanut butter smoothie. That’s my idea of g-o-o-d. Oh, and I get to pet Jack, too.
I ALWAYS put nut-butter (usually almond or hazelnut) and bananas in my smoothies - can’t make one without those ingredients, for sure!
your flax has blueberries!?!?! wtf! i didn’t know that existed!
Just like rebecca, I’ve honestly never added peanut butter to a smoothie either! And mainly because I’m afraid that I won’t be able to taste it and it’ll be a waste… so just how flavourful is the peanut butter once you add it in there, can you taste it a lot? I’ll probably give it a try very soon, it sounds so darn good.
yeah apparently according to my fiance whey is better than soy too haha, must be a guy thing… i just got hooked on whey isolate, apparently it’s a “cleaner” form of protein!
Romina -
Good idea. Maybe I’ll try that next.
Badger -
Seriously, I had no idea there were blueberries in it until you said that. It doesn’t taste like blueberries at all.
Tina -
It’s ground. I keep it in the freezer so it doesn’t go bad, but I use it pretty quickly so I don’t worry about buying the pre-ground kind. But I know you can ground it in a clean coffee grinder or probably a food processor.
dc_rd -
I know, it’s ground.
rebecca -
I don’t think it gets lost as long as you don’t put too much milk. If you think about it, the rest of the flavors are pretty bland…and also the flax adds a nutty flavor that kind of accentuates it. No, I don’t have a dishwasher. My life sucks, basically.
PS -
It’s a date. He’d let you pet him. He’s sweet.
VG -
I agree, obviously.
Betsy -
I didn’t either, until badger said something. I got it at Trader Joe’s. I wouldn’t hunt it down, though, because it doesn’t taste like blueberries.
Kristie -
I think it’s worth it; I definitely taste it. But just try it once! I mean, the worst that could happen is you can’t taste it and you wasted like 100 calories. No big deal. Plus you still get the protein and healthy fat.
Lindz -
It is definitely a guy thing. Chris drinks it just mixed with water and it makes me want to gag. I’ll have to check out the isolate; he just said it’s better too. But he said isolate isn’t natural??? I don’t know. I had no idea it was so complicated.