NomNom: Peanut Butter Green Smoothie

You guys have no idea how happy I am that it's finally starting to feel like spring <insert happy dance>. This winter was brutal for this area where it just seemed like mother nature just would NOT let go of winter. Rude.

It made me want to stay at home instead of venturing out in the cold and I may have cancelled out on a couple of plans with friends because it was just too dang cold outside to wanna leave the comforts of home. But my friends are the bestest so they get me. It's cool.

The polar vortex brought out the wuss in me, ok?

The freezing weather we experienced also made me want to avoid any sort of cold desserts and drinks and unfortunately my green smoothie game suffered. A bad mix of lazy and rebellion towards anything cold related.

But things are starting to get back on track and I'm back to my green smoothie regimen with a new savory, nutty, and sweet smoothie recipe. My love for peanut butter is next level (especially when there's also banana involved with it) so when I saw that it was one of the ingredients involved, I had to try it. The thing I love about this smoothie is that there are so many awesome layers of flavors that hit your taste buds starting with the banana, a hint of peanut butter, and cinnamon <----game changer for reals.

So who's with me with welcoming Spring with a super healthy and delicious drink of good-for-you-masked-greens? Let's.do.this.

Have a great week. Xo.


Ingredients (Adapted from Bon Appetit) Yields: 2
1 banana
1 cup almond milk
1 cup spinach (torn kale)
2 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon Chia seeds (optional)

Procedure
1. Blend in banana, milk, spinach, peanut butter, cinnamon, chia seed, 1/4 cup of ice in a blender until smooth. 

NomNom: Green Smoothie

When it comes to lifestyle and food, I'm a firm believer in having balance. I personally don't believe in all these crazy diets and restrictions people put on themselves because something is too fattening or blah blah blah. Rather, everything in moderation is the way to go. I personally enjoy food too much to not to have that piece of cheesecake or slice(s) of pizza...I mean what kind of life is that?

What works for me is to have a balanced diet with some sort of exercise incorporated during the week (any type of cardio to get your heart rate up!) If I overindulge on the weekend, which is pretty much every weekend, I try to eat a bit more healthier the next couple of days. Again, balance.

When I first heard about juicing/green smoothies, I was skeptical yet curious to see what the hype was about. After a couple of trial runs on both, I decided that I prefer making smoothies over the juicing process because fiber isn't lost in the process and quite honestly smoothies are just more convenient.

Green smoothies aren't visually the most appetizing thing to look at, but it is really, really tasty. Trust. You don't taste the vegetables that goes into the drink and the natural sweetness from the fruit(s) masks the vegetable taste. Ever since I found this way to incorporate daily vegetables into my diet (since I'm not by any means a salad eating, vegetable loving gal), I've been sharing this recipe (and converting) family and friends into being green smoothie drinking machines. After making one for a friend, she texted me the following day with, "Buying spinach now." The following week, another girlfriend texted me saying she's been feeling more energized in the morning after drinking her newfound love of green smoothies. True stories.

Feel free to experiment with different types of fruits. Lately I've been adding strawberries and blueberries to the mix so I can indulge in all the fresh summer fruits before the season is gone.

It's a brand new week so why not jump start it with a healthy, energy drink? Drink up that chlorophyll.

Happy Monday. Xo.

Ingredients (Serves: 1)
1 big handful of fresh baby spinach
3/4 cup almond milk (I use vanilla)
1 ripe banana, peeled and quartered (frozen bananas work too!)
1/2 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
2 tsp flaxseed (optional)
3 pitted Medjool dates, coarsely chopped (optional)
*I usually add a couple of ice cubes because I love to drink it icy cold

Procedure
1. Place softest ingredients first (banana, spinach, Greek yogurt) into the blender and top with the remaining ingredients, adding the milk last. Blend until smooth and feel free to add more milk if you want a thinner consistency. Serve immediately and enjoy.