Guest Post by Debbie Lawrence from Chef2Chef: Peanut Butter Smoothie

 I love peanut butter! Salty and sweet in the same time...the perfect combination! I guarantee that you'll love this smoothie. I made it myself and took some photos so all of you could see how good it looks. It is so refreshing but filling at the same time. I recommend it for breakfast; it is ideal for those of you who are always in a hurry because it's ready in less than 3 minutes! 

Debbie Lawrence is a content editor for a student chef and culinary school blog at Chef2Chef.net.With an eye for design and a passion for baking, Debbie is currently researching top culinary schools in Georgia to further her career – and hopefully advance her cooking skills. You can find her on Twitter here or here.

If you’re a huge peanut butter fan like me – and I mean beyond the peanut butter sandwiches and peanut butter-honey English muffins – than you are in for a serious treat! I recently went to a beach town in Mexico where the touristy hotel tries to make “American-inspired” dishes to please their home-sick customers. One of these treats was a peanut butter smoothie that I fell in love with. Simple, delicious, and healthy, here is the recipe your taste buds will remember forever.

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
2 Tablespoons Yogurt
½ Cup of Granola
1 Tablespoon of Shaved Coconut
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
½ of a Banana
¼ Cup of Milk 
Ice

Directions: 

Place all the ingredients, except the ice, in a blender. 

Once it starts to liquefy, add about 6 or 7 ice cubes – adjust to your desire – and blend until all the ice cubes are crushed and the peanut butter is completely blended. 

Voilà! You have yourself a nutritious and delicious smoothie that is either great as a meal itself or maybe a snack to curb that afternoon hunger.

Another important fact to note, it is the only solution I’ve found to eliminating a potent garlic or onion after taste.

Ingredient Adjustment Suggestions

Any organic peanut butter is the best option for this smoothie recipe. Not only are the generic ones, such as Jiffy or Skippy, super bad for you, they also curb the taste of granola. I recommend crunchy peanut butter for that extra nuttiness.

As for the yogurt, any plain or vanilla flavored yogurt is great. I wouldn’t recommend any Greek yogurt per say as it is already too thick and is harder to blend with the sticky peanut butter.

Fresh granola without any fruits is the best option for this recipe as well. I recommend a honey and almond blend from Whole Foods in the bin aisle – so good!

 Recipe by Debbie Lawrence from Chef2Chef  and photos by Ruxandra Micu - Gourmandelle.