Chocolate PB Banana Protein Smoothie

Do you get hungry at 3 pm for a snack or is that just me? They say that dinner should be your lightest meal of the day and I try to stick to that. In order to avoid being starving at 8pm, I have a protein smoothie at 2:30 or 3 and then a light dinner at 5:30 or 6. Voila, I'm good for the night. So let me tell you about my protein smoothie.

Here's the key: frozen bananas. I buy bananas every week at the grocery store and sometimes they're all gone by the end of the week, but sometimes we have a few that are too ripe to eat. I chop the almost ruined-bananas into bite size pieces and put them in my banana bag in the freezer. It's a win-win. I'm not wasting food and they make a super yummy smoothie. But take it from me: cut the banana up before you put them in the freezer. I've made that mistake before and then they're next to impossible to cut. If you don't have a frozen banana, you replace it

with a half banana and a handful of ice.

Spinach is another important ingredient. In general, I don't like spinach. They say it's good for you and is packed with vitamins but yuck! It's not good raw and it's not good cooked. I don't know who "they" are that claim it's good for you, but I'm taking their word for it. The only way I'm getting the nutritional benefits of spinach is if I can't taste it. That's where this smoothie comes in. I buy a bag of fresh spinach and immediately put it in the freezer each week. When I'm ready to make a smoothie, I throw in a handful of spinach and blend it really well. You can't taste it. I promise!

Okay, I'm getting to the point now. Gather your ingredients: frozen bananas, frozen spinach, PB, chocolate protein powder, water. The amount of ingredients will depend on the size of smoothie you want. The recipe below fills up a small Tervis cup.

4-5 bite size pieces of frozen banana (about half a banana)

1 cup spinach leaves (frozen or raw)

1 tablespoon PB (creamy or crunchy- who am I to end the age-old debate?)

Half scoop chocolate protein powder (here is the kind I buy, but the brand doesn't matter)

1/2 to 1 cup of water (depending on desired consistency)

Throw everything in the blender on medium speed for 90 seconds. Pour it in a cup, add a straw, and enjoy!

My kids love this smoothie as much as I do! If they catch me making it, I have to make enough for them too. My kids don't drink milk so if I'm making this just for them, I add milk instead of water. As a mom of picky eaters, I can't beat a snack with protein, calcium, and vitamins. It's delicious and nutritious.

Side note, if you're not already freezing all of your fruit and veggies that are about to ruin, then you should be! They are super versatile. You can make any kind of omelette out of frozen veggies and any kind of smoothie out of frozen fruit. Try it! For example, you could add strawberries and hold the PB and banana for a chocolate covered strawberry protein smoothie. YUMMMM! You could buy the vanilla protein powder and add mixed berries and greek yogurt for a delicious smoothie. Just don't forget the spinach!