Recipe: $1.60 | Per: $0.80 | Yield: 2 (small)
It's Peanut butter jelly time!! Peanutbutterjelly, peanutbutterjelly, peanutbutterjellywithabaseballbat.
Everyone else was thinking it too, right? Well, anyway...good morning, smoothie lovers! I know it's getting chilly out there, but a filling smoothie is still my favorite mid-morning snack. Especially with greens. And peanut butter in a fruit smoothie? It sounds weird, but I promise: it is good.
It's Weird, Wild, and Crazy Smoothies Week at Williams Sonoma, so I thought I'd post one of our stranger concoctions. Putting everyone's favorite sandwich in smoothie form is not exactly crazy, but definitely a little weird.
Back when we did our green smoothie challenge we actually made this PB&J smoothie combo whenever we were low on fruit...because we would actually use a Trader Joe's fruit spread. We kept buying it because it has no funky ingredients, but neither of us really likes it that much. Instead, BLUEBERRIES.
Anyway, this one does not have jelly. It has blueberries. Frozen blueberries! You can totally use real jelly if you must, but berries are better. I love frozen fruit because there's no crazy rush to eat it all before it goes bad. During the spring, Zac and I would get like 5 packages of berries, and even when we ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, there were always a few sad ones at the end. Smoothie fodder.
Okay, but the smoothie. It's awesome. You can use any berries, and if it is not sweet enough for you, throw in 1-2 Medjool dates also. (Or 1-2 tablespoon date syrup.) As for the greens, we used swiss chard, but this would work with spinach or kale also!
Full disclosure: I don't actually like regular peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. If you toast the bread, then I'm all over it, but otherwise, it's weird and gooey and soggy, and not for me. I know, it's really un-American...but that's why I have this smoothie instead!
Some quick tips to make your PB&J Smoothie perfect:
- If using leafy greens, blend them with half the liquid (in this case, half a cup of water) FIRST, before adding anything else to the blender. This will help you avoid chunks of greens in your smoothie, especially if you don't have a high-powered blender.
- Use frozen berries and frozen banana pieces for a thicker consistency.
- Keep it cheap by using water instead of milk or juice!
- Creamy peanut butter is probably best, but I've used crunchy and it's worked just fine in my crappy blender.
And also, if you like to wash your blender by adding water and soap and blending it together...make sure you check for spoons and measuring cups in the blender before doing so. Or you might end up searching for a new blender...like me...because I left a spoon in there...and I broke it completely. Sad day.
For the record, you really don't need a fancy high-powered blender to make perfect smoothies. We loved our Magic Bullet, which was only about $35, but left it behind in Peru, and have been using an inexpensive Oster blender ($25) ever since. Although it isn't ideal for things like nuts, dried fruit, hummus, or nut butters, it's has taken a METAL SPOON in the blender for it to finally break. If you have the money for a VitaMix, KitchenAid, BlendTec, or Ninja, you should check out this video by 100 Days of Real Food to figure out which is best for you!
This recipe makes one large smoothie or two small smoothies. To bulk it up, you can add another banana. Enjoy!
Peanut Butter & Jelly Smoothie
Ingredients
- 2 cups leafy greens optional
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup frozen blueberries
- 1 medium banana chopped and frozen if desired
- 3-4 Tablespoons peanut butter creamy unsalted
- 1-2 dates optional
Instructions
- If using leafy greens, add to blender with water and blend until smooth.
- Add remaining ingredients to blender and blend until smooth.
- Enjoy immediately, or store in an airtight container for later!
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