Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

This Thirsty Thursday, I'm taking a step away from my usual coffee beverages to bring you a quirky smoothie. Yes. Quirky. 

It's like Zooey Deschanel in a cup.

   I have very few prosaic childhood peanut butter and jelly memories. I was the only person in the family and perhaps America who found the two standard supermarket jelly varieties—grape and strawberry—to be repulsive. Even my mother’s homemade strawberry jam was hardly bearable. I only liked seeded blackberry and raspberry jams, which my mother never bought since most reasonable people, my parents included, dislike seeded jams; but they were sometimes supplied by my berry-growing jam-making great-grandmother. Because I was not a total brat I didn’t voice these opinions and ate peanut butter and strawberry jam plenty of times, but consequently, sandwich-centric flavors have never been appealing to me—even the peanut butter and jelly Larabar couldn’t win me over.

   
My general hatred of peanut butter and jelly established, I surprised myself by being strangely attracted to a strawberry-based peanut butter and jelly shake recipe I saw online recently. I’ve been looking for a good, solid breakfast to carry me through to lunch, and since I’m busy from very early in the morning I need something quick and easy. Fiber-filled and packing a surprising amount of protein, this smoothie is it.

    I plan to try it with other fruit, such as peaches or berries (naturally), but so far I’ve just done strawberries. If, by chance, you actually are a peanut butter and jelly lover, this is a healthy way to satisfy those cravings. As I became an adult, I actually developed a certain fondness for peanut butter and marmalade on my mom’s homemade bread, but rarely ate it because it didn’t (and still doesn't) seem worth the astronomical carb, sugar, and calorie load that came with it. So if you’re feeling all sandwichy-nostalgic or just need a quick breakfast or post-workout snack, give this a try. It's basically the manic pixie dreamgirl of smoothies. 

Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie

Inspired by this recipe

                                                        1 cup frozen strawberries                                                         

½ - 1 cup soy or almond milk

2 tbsp peanuts           

1 tbsp chia seeds, optional

1-3 dates

Blend all ingredients together and enjoy.

Notes: I generally measure my fruit and fill with milk while the fruit is still in the cup. When using a Blend-Tec, this is the perfect amount of liquid, but I’ve found with a weaker blender I’ve had to add more milk. It really just depends on what you’ve got.

   The dates are for added sweetness—I’ve made this smoothie probably a dozen times now and one date was fine until my most recent few smoothies, when my strawberries were far less sweet.