PB&J Smoothie

Is it just me, or does there seem to be a smoothie resurgence in winter time?  I get the summer smoothie thing.  It is hot.  A nice, cold drink/meal is refreshing, but I find a lot of people still do smoothies in the winter.

In large part, I think this is due to health commitments/New Year’s resolutions, etc. that crop up this time of year.    Smoothies have quite a bit of “health halo” to them (even though lots are just loaded with sugar).

Can I just be honest here?  I do not like drinking my meals.  I like to chew my food.  You will not find me condoning meal replacement shakes over here.  That sounds sad.  And hungry.

But there are people who like this!  There are even year-round smoothie drinkers!

Well, this smoothie?  It has kinda changed my mind a little.  It is yummy!  It is filling!  Because, sometimes, as much as you know you should sit down and enjoy a meal, you just have to get.stuff.done, and smoothies are handy.

I like to combine a couple of drink meal ideas here.  There is the whole protein shake idea–popular with the gym-going crowd.  And there is the whole juicing all.the.fruits.and.veggies idea–popular with the yoga/vegan crowd.  Not saying either is bad, but they’re just not quite me.

I like my smoothies to be tasty and delicious (like juices) but still chock full of protein (like shakes).  I also like to add a good amount of fat to keep me from getting hungry in five minutes.  I calculated this smoothie to have 25 grams of protein and 22 grams of fat.  (Nice.)

Landon requests smoothies sometimes, and I like to oblige.  He can get a whole lot of greens in without having to finagle spinach on a fork.  I think he called this “the bestest smoothie ever.”

So, the key to my smoothies is collagen powder.  I am so very happy that this is so buzzy in the crunchy world these days.  It is almost completely tasteless.  It dissolves easily (no more gross gritty protein shakes).  It is great for skin and gut health (I take it every day during pregnancy to avoid stretch marks!).  One scoop will give you about 10 grams of protein without all the extra nasty stuff in protein powders.

I’ve been using this kind just added to water to give my skin some extra love, but this is the kind that I like for smoothies.

Other things I like about this smoothie…

1.  Strawberries–we picked a bunch in the summer and froze them, but you can get them frozen year round at the grocery store.
2. Chia seeds–they keep us “going!” ‘Nuf said.
3. Tons of spinach–sometimes you just want a different way to consume your greens other than salad.
4. Peanut butter–I love this kind.  Yes, it has some sugar, but not a ton.  You could use almond butter, and that would probably be a more nutrient dense choice, but I just really like peanut butter sometimes.

Blend this up in just a few minutes, and you’ve got a delicious meal in a cup.  And now for the recipe…

 

Do you have other winter smoothies that you love?  Send ’em my way!

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