Peanut butter banana protein smoothie

Do I have your attention?  Thought so ;)

Technically this couldn't be considered a milkshake because there is no ice cream in the mix (don't go! stay!  you'll see...), but you'd surely never know considering how thick and creamy this breakfast was: banana peanut butter smoothie for the win!

I had another recipe ready for today but my gut told me that it was imperative for you to hear about this cool breakfast treat.  The heat and humidity have been downright oppressive and what a better way to start your day with a refreshing (and, healthy, to boot!) smoothie.

Seriously, look how thick this concoction was?!  And this was after it patiently sat through a photo shoot and warmed just a smidge from its original ice cold state:

In the mix:

1 banana, sliced and frozen in a Ziploc bag
1 cup milk
1 1/2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
Vanilla protein powder (optional, but if adding, I'd go with 1/2 scoop)

Blend until smooth and serve immediately!


My favorite part about this smoothie is the banana.  Like its frozen dessert cousin, the starches and sugars in the banana make it an ideal blending fruit when frozen.  Creamy, thick, and like dessert, I tell you.  I had one of these on Saturday morning to rev my engine before I headed to the old apartment to clean.  Devoured the smoothie around 7:30 and... it held me over until I had lunch at 12:30!!!  That, my friends, is quite a feat because a) I'm always hungry, and b) I usually eat every 2 hours.

Knowing this would fuel me for the better part of the morning, I scratched my plans for cereal and whipped up a milkshake smoothie for this morning's breakfast.  Fruit, check.  Protein, double check.  I even sat in my new favorite perch and enjoyed the sunrise over the city.

Oh.My.Gosh.  As I slurped and savored, I couldn't stop thinking, "How is this not a milkshake?  How, universe, how?!"  Thick, creamy, and so delicious!  Banana and peanut butter are soulmates, I tell you.  There is no way one can live without the other.  It would be sacrilege. 

And, just like that, my smoothie went down in the fashion of a decadent dessert rather than some hippie good-for-you breakfast drink.  No need for trickery in the early hours of the morning since I usually wake up wanting dessert first thing :)