Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie

This morning i needed a little boost. Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie is my without fail Friday breakfast. But often turns out to be much more regular than once a week! I used to hate peanut butter. When i was about 16, my friend made peanut butter protein shakes and it was almost undrinkable. But now i can not get enough of the stuff!

As a rule, i make my own foods and never use processed products. I do however occasionally use products, such as Meridian Peanut and Almond butter as it contains 100% nuts and if i am in a rush - its so much easier than making my own. Most nut butters contain sugar and palm oil, as well as the nut. Meridian do not add any other ingredient than the nuts themselves and so i feel pretty happy eating their products. As no sugar is added, it is noticeably less sweet than standard nut butters and if not mixing into a smoothie ( which already contains sweetness from bananas etc ), you may want to add some fruit sugar or mix with dates.

I use a mixture of frozen and unfrozen bananas for this recipe. Frozen bananas give the smoothie a 'ice cream' feel and is a really good way to use over ripe bananas. Sometimes i ask my local farm shop to save me any unsold, over ripe bananas which i get for a discounted rate, I then unpeel, chop and freeze to make smoothies or ice cream :),

Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie

1 Frozen Banana

1 unfrozen Banana

2 heaped tsp Peanut Butter

1/4 cup oats

200ml water

200ml almond milk

Kiwi & Pear Smoothie

I love Breakfast smoothies :) I have them daily after my workouts - and i always get excited. I tend to look in my fruit bowl, pick a few fruits out that i fancy and chuck them in a blender. Sometimes i get a combination which just does not work and i know never to do that smoothie again! Ahaha. But most of the time, as long as you are not mixing a citrus fruit with a 'creamy' or 'milky' base such as almond milk etc, you are pretty safe!

I have bought a new blender, which i will blog about in full shortly. But in brief - i don't know how i ever managed without it! I previously used a standard smoothie maker that came with my food processor package. It was good, but took a while to blend and i never got a really smooth consistency. I also had to wash the damn thing up every morning which was a slog as i am always in a rush! My new blender, blends in the cup you use to drink! Which is perfect for the morning, when i can grab the bottle and run out the door. Its also super quick! and blends Everything really well, even carrot!

Working out is becoming enjoyable now. I used to hate exercising and i never thought i would get to the point where i liked it. I go to sleep looking forward to waking up. That is very odd for me as i love my sleep!

Today i had a loveeely kiwi & pear smoothie... It was sweet, thick, creamy and almost like having a pudding for breakfast. YUM.

Kiwi & Pear Smoothie

2 Bananas

2 Kiwis

1 pear

250ml Almond milk / Coconut water/ water

I used 100ml Almond milk, 100ml coconut water and 50ml water as i don't like to have too much almond milk. If you use all almond milk, you will have a much 'creamier' smoothie :) Alternatively, if the smoothie is too thick for your taste - add more liquid of choice.

Pink Pina Colada

 

I think it is funny how your taste buds change and develop as time goes by. Up until a few years ago, I couldn't stand pineapple. I am not sure if it was the little bit of outer skin that would get caught in between my teeth of just the tangy taste but even the thought of pineapple makes my mouth go all weird. Now at 22, I absolutely love the taste but I THINK ( and I say think, because I am always over dramatise situations) that I have developed a slight allergy to pineapple. My lips get tingly and my throat goes all 'rusty' and tight, like the feeling you get when a soar throat is starting, almost the moment after I eat it, and lasts for a good few hours. Which SUCKS. It will not stop me from occasionally eating or drinking the stuff, but I do like to listen to my body.

 

Pina Colada has to be one of the best summer drinks. Just one sip and im whisked away to a tropical paradise.. almost - I can dream. Although, I am not really great with too much heat. I get heat overload and have to run inside - it must be my pale English skin!

 

Unfortunately,  my pineapple wasn't 100% ripe and I was too impatient to wait. I wanted Pina Colada and I wanted it NOW! So I was inventive and popped in a few chunks of watermelon to sweeten things up. YUM.

 

 

Pink Pina Colada

 

 

1/2 Pineapple

A few Chunks of watermelon (about 1/2 cup)

250ml of coconut water (or coconut milk or half and half)

 

It is best to cut pineapple into small pieces as it makes the blending process easier. I used just under 250ml of coconut water, and then added a splash of coconut milk. If you want it really coconutty - ( real word?)  then go full blast with the coconut milk.