My All Time Favorite Smoothie-Peanut Butter Dream!

I love smoothies. They are super easy to make, require minimal ingredients, can be taken anywhere and are super satisfying. I know it can be hard to get in nutrients during the day and making a smoothie is probably one of the tastiest, easiest, expensive ways to get in a ton of vitamins, minerals and greens in one cup! (or bowl) 

If you live in Boston, you know that there is a smoothie bar literally on every corner. The options are endless: Energize,  Jugos, Juicepress, The Juicery, Cocobeet, Mother Juice,  (just to name a few!) The issue is: cost, ingredients, extra ‘stuff’ For example, some of the smoothies from juice bars are packed with sweetened non dairy milks, 1/4C nut butter, over 3 servings of fruit and extra sugar such as agave or maple. It’s quite easy for these healthy shakes to become a sugar bomb that packs over 500 calories. Of course, you can (most of the time) create your own at these juice bars, but I would HIGHLY suggest investing in some ingredients to make your own creations that you can play around with and control the ingredients of! 

But They Don’t Fill Me Up! 

To ensure that your smoothie is satisfying and keeping you full for hours, the key is to play around with ingredients that work for YOUR body. I would highly recommend adding in those good fats and veggies to keep the fat and fiber content high. Every person has different goals and requires different amounts of calories throughout the day so I would recommend playing around with your own ingredients to see what works. For instance, maybe you don’t NEED the extra good fats in there or maybe just a half of a tablespoon instead of a whole one. 

How I construct A Smoothie

  • Fruit: I usually choose two fruits and use about 1/2C of each. Fruit can be a total sugar bomb and usually this is what is overdone in those store-bought smoothies so be sure to measure! I prefer frozen berries (a combination of blueberries and raspberries are my favorite), but any type of frozen fruit works great. mangoes, pineapple, cherries, banana, figs) 
  • Extras: Spices like cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa powder, nutmeg, pumpin pie spice, vanilla extract; totally optional! Chia seeds, hemp seeds, maca powder, spirulina or any other superfood powder! 
  • Salt: Just a dash of Himalayan sea salt. This is optional! 
  • Liquid: I typically use Califa Farms almond milk for added flavor, but you can also use coconut, soy, cashew, or regular milk! The unsweetened almond milk varieties add minimal calories (25-40 per cup) for a ton of flavor so if you are looking for the most low calorie option then certainly look into an unsweetened almond milk! 
  • Fats: My favorite addition to smoothies! My all time favorite is peanut butter because it adds a PB flavor to the smoothie but you can use any nut butter you like such as cashew, hazelnut, almond, sunflower seed butter. Another great way to add fat is coconut oil or flax oil!  
  • Veggies/Greens: I always throw in some baby spinach but you can use kale or any leafy green! This will make the shake thick and filled with fiber. Lately, I have also been throwing in 1/4C of frozen riced cauliflower. You cannot even taste it and makes it super thick! 
  • Protein source: You can use protein powder! I prefer a collagen protein or pea protein because they are the easiest on my stomach.  For the pea protein, I use a brand called Nuzest (I get the vanilla flavor)  For the collagen protein, I have been using a brand called Primal Kitchen in the vanilla cooconut flavor (it blends SO well and tastes delicious, easy on the stomach) The protein selection is up to you! If you have a whey or casein protein that you like, feel free to use that! You can also use Greek Yogurt, Kefir, cottage cheese or even silken tofu. 

NUTRITION BREAKDOWN

The exact nutritional breakdown of your protein shake will vary depending on your goals, what you put in it (obviously) but roughly I would say it can vary from 200 calories-400 calories. When I make the smoothie, I use:

  • 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk (30 calories) 
  • 1 scoop of protein powder (140 calories) 
  • Banana/blueberry combo (~120 calories)
  • Spinach (0 calories) 
  • 1 TBSP peanut butter (90 calories)  

So you can see that WITH the peanut butter the smoothie comes out to around 380 calories and without the peanut butter, the shake comes out to 270 calories. For me, this is plenty for a small meal. 

If you are looking to increase calories in order to increase muscle, certainly add another Tablespoon of nut butter and you can also add in some dried fruit or use a different dairy source. You can also top the smoothie with extras like granola, hemp seeds, chia seeds etc.

 If you are looking for a lower calorie option but still want that peanut butter flavor, then I would recommend trying out the powdered peanut butter which is the ONLY time I will use that stuff (in a shake) Other than that, it has no place in my kitchen! 

Smoothie ingredients (unpictured: baby spinach)

 

As you can see, making a protein shake at home is SUPER EASY and its the best way to get creative! In my last newsletter, I sent out a PDF document of 10 different protein shake recipes, so if you are wanting that document for more ideas, feel free to send me an email! It will be in your inbox ASAP!