Heavenly PB & Banana Smoothie

I got some great feedback from my first smoothie post! Thanks to all of you that tried it and let me know what you thought. Keep that feedback coming! :) If you missed that post, you can find it here. You can find my recipe for Healthy Chocolate Smoothie there, and also the reasons why I love smoothies.

I've been racking my brain on which amazing flavor of smoothie to come up with next. There are SO many. I was making several smoothies a day to find the most delicious taste with as many vitamins and healthy nutrients included. My waistline was BEGGING me to slow down because although smoothies are great for your body...6 or 7 within a few hours are not. Haha! Then the Heavenly PB & Banana Smoothie was born.

Since I made this particular smoothie for my husband last night, I used 2% cow's milk but because my son and I are lactose intolerant I would have used original plain soymilk for us. Either one works perfectly well. Bananas have a lot of great nutrients in them, but they are also very sweet so when used in recipes extra sweetener is usually not needed. Just the way God intended! Flaxseeds are a good source of fiber and are rich in Omega-3s! They also contain some Omega-6 and Omega-9. Natural peanut butter is a great source of protein and has many vitamins (feel free to use any type of nut butter you choose if you have a peanut allergy in the family). I encourage the use of natural pb as it does not contain hydrogenated oils which are REALLY not good for our bodies! It is delicious, so much better for you, and much more affordable than it used to be. I generally use spinach leaves. but when I saw the kale and spinach blend was cheaper I decided to give it a whirl! It wasn't bad at all. My husband couldn't even taste the kale once the smoothie was finished (and he is NOT a bitter fan). Kale is more bitter than most other green vegetables but also extremely good for you, and when prepared correctly can be tasty to even the pickiest eaters! Lastly, the blueberries add no flavor to this smoothie, but throw in some extra antioxidants to strengthen your immune system. They do leave a tiny bit of specks after blended, so if your eaters can not stand the texture feel free to leave them out.

Heavenly PB & Banana Smoothie
(Can be gluten free, dairy free, added sugar free, egg free, Vegan, Vegetarian)
Serves 2 (about 1 cup each)

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups milk (2% cow's milk or original plain soymilk)*
• Small fresh banana, broken into 1 inch pieces (about 6-7 inches long)
• 1 tbs ground flaxseed
• 2 tbs peanut butter
• 1 cup spinach or spinach and kale blend
• 1/4 cup blueberries, fresh
• Crushed ice, if needed to thicken (optional)
• Protein powder (optional; not included here)**

Directions

1. Place all ingredients in blender in the order shown except for the ice if using.
2. Blend as needed to completely puree and mix together all ingredients. If using a stronger blender, like a Vitamix, this step should be quick and easy. If using an older cheaper blender like me, it may take up to 5 minutes and using different settings to get the smoothie to the consistency you want. 
3. If smoothie is not thick enough, add 1/2 cup of crushed ice and blend very well. Continue to add as much crushed ice as needed to reach the desired consistency. There should be no chunks of ice left. 
4. Get two glasses, pour 1 cup into each, sit, sip, and enjoy!

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Notes:
*I also tried unsweetened almond milk with this recipe, but it wasn't as tasty and needed some sweetener. If you would like to reduce the carbs and sugar in this recipe, feel free to use unsweetened almond milk and add sweetener of choice to desired flavor. I have not tried fat free, 1%, or whole cow's milk. If you do please let me know how it comes out!
**I know many people want more protein in their breakfast or their diet in general. I actually got the idea to make protein powder optional in all my smoothies from one of my friends who really liked my first smoothie and even made it for a family member who drank it all up! She added protein powder, and I thought that it was a great idea. I did not add it in this recipe myself, but feel free to add your favorite protein powder to increase the protein amount. It will change the nutrition facts I provide below if added. 

Nutrition Facts:
(1 cup with 2% cow's milk)
Cals-268, Fat-13.5g, Carbs-27.5g, Fiber-2.5g, Sugar-17g, Pro-11.5g

(1 cup with original plain soymilk)
Cals-251, Fat-12.8g, Carbs-25g, Fiber-3.5g, Sugar-12.5g, Pro-10.5g