Creamy Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie
I am sure you have all heard me mention how I chug my G’s Oatmeal Smoothie every morning and love it. It’s just so healthy and such an incredible start to my day that I can’t get myself to move on to one of my many (yet to be posted) other smoothie recipes. However, on the weekends I sometimes need a change. A break from the berries if you will! I am a massive fan of anything peanut butter and banana or peanut butter and chocolate. I find those combinations to be unbeatable in my sweet tooth world. Like I’ve said before, I don’t particularly have a sweet tooth, as I’d choose a bagel, potato chip, slice of pizza etc any day over chocolate or other sweets, however, those are the loves of the small sweet tooth within me. I have really been enjoying my Creamy Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie for weekends now! My lil’ man, G, loves them as well. Double delight! Honestly, you could throw in some cocoa powder for a chocolate effect, add some spinach for the fiber (I always do), and use any kind of nut butter you’d like! I’m never strict with a recipe so I most certainly don’t expect the same from my readers. In Beijing, it is very difficult to find natural peanut butter, and when you do, it costs oodles of moola. I have taken to buying the “mixed sesame” butter (a variety of what I think is sesame seeds, peanuts, and probably something else), as it is completely natural, delicious, and costs a mere $1.00! Now, you cannot beat that. These are the things in China that I will truly miss… well, a part of some of the things I will miss. I am leaving after 5 long years in 7 weeks and it will be extremely bitter sweet! I am starting to feel the reality now… I digress, back to smoothie speak! I drink them all year long but I know that they’re even bigger hits in the summer time. Bring on the beach, the sun, and the great outdoors. I am beyond ready and am sure you are, too! Enjoy your Creamy Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie in the summer, spring, winter, or fall… at the beach, in the morning, afternoon, or at the mall. Okay, I had to do it. The Dr. Seuss in me insisted. Enjoy it even as a light dinner or dessert. It knows no bounds! Slurp up this deliciously satisfying and healthy Creamy Peanut Butter & Banana Smoothie and I promise you, you’ll be on the road to a healthier you!
- 2 bananas
- 3-4 large spoonfuls of peanut butter
- 1/2 a ripe avocado
- 2 cups oats
- Dash of vanilla extract
- 1 can coconut milk
- Coconut water (use your desired amount for thickness/thinness)
- Large handful of spinach (optional but recommended- I always use this)
- Put a splash of coconut water in the bottom of your blender and add the oats
- Top with coconut milk
- Add bananas, peanut butter, avocado, vanilla
- Top with spinach if using
- Add your desired amount of coconut water
- Blend
- *I put this in the refrigerator overnight and blend in the morning for a cold smoothie!
- This yields 3 large glasses.
- Add cocoa powder for a chocolate flavor
- Add spinach or kale for some awesome fiber/vitamins. You won't taste it if you're concerned about this.
- Use any kind of milk (almond, soy - plain, vanilla, chocolate -, cow's milk etc)
- Use any kind of nut butter
10 Green Vegan Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day!
10 Green Vegan Recipes for St. Patrick’s Day! Okay, I’m Irish, like super Irish – well, for an American anyway. Ancestry.com will tell you this, too. Been to Sligo, met the fam… does this push me upwards in the Irish department? 😉 My uncles and their children on my mother’s side all have their Irish passports. Even though my mother never got hers, therefore, I don’t have mine, does this push me even further upwards in the Irish department? I say, “yes.” LOL. Fuck, if you’re a New Yorker, like from a borough or from LI, like myself, you’re Irish by proxy. Seriously. 😉 Even my super Italian best friend has a shamrock tattoo on her ankle. Catch my drift? So, now that I’ve said all of that, it gives me permission to say this (or so I believe – hehe): Irish food kind of, sort of, possibly… is fucking terrible. That being said, if you’re not down with corned beef & cabbage, or an Irish stew, for the most American-Irish day of the year, then below I have provided you with 10 awesome green vegan recipes for St. Patrick’s day that cross all cultures, but celebrate with the color green. How’s that for a run-on sentence?! 😉 Outside of Irish Soda Bread (vegan), recipe HERE, I usually go for the recipes that I’ve provided for you in this post. How do you celebrate? I’ll be at a parade, and then celebrating in style with Irish music, dance, and pipers at my fave restaurant for St. Pat’s Day shenanigans. Please feel free to add your recipes or ideas in the comment section below! Also, I have Heyoya, which means you can leave a voice message! -FGG
PS- This is the amazing Emerald Society Pipes & Drums band playing in the St. Pat’s Day parade in NYC:
*CLICK ON TITLE OF RECIPE TO BRING YOU DIRECTLY TO THE LINK:
GREEN GODDESS CHEESY QUESADILLAS
THE MOST BITCHIN’ BREAKFAST POTATOES EVER!
Vegan Chocolate Crepes w/ PB & Coconut Whipped Cream
I’m back! Totally fell off the map with my Friday and Sunday posts. I am in the middle of concert season right now and have 4 concerts in the next 4 weeks. Lastly, I fffiiiiinallly decided to focus solely on my podcast this past Sunday. And, drum roll please… they are ffiiiiiinally done! Loads of re-recording the intro and outro songs that I wrote, editing in Audacity, and then, the worst moment of all… 3 straight hours where all of my files/recordings – all 3 of my episodes and both songs, gone. Gone as in, no where to be found. I was in a state of complete and utter panic! Anyway, it was all resolved (phewwwww). I spent 11 fucking hours on Sunday on this shit. However, it was 11 fucking hours well spent. My podcast, “One More Sip of Whine: Motherhood in the Raw,” will be available on all major platforms in the next few days – weeks! It is all out of my hands now. So exciting! I’ll be writing a huge post about it when they’re fully released. Stay tuned!
Vegan Chocolate Crepes w/ PB & Coconut Whipped Cream is another Instagram inspired recipe. I see crepes like this allll the time on Insta and I finally felt like I had to give it a go! So, I did. And, they were awesome. It literally took about 15 minutes from start to finish to make these. Fucking perfect! I originally just made coconut whipped cream, however, I was not really diggin’ it, and I knew I was going to drizzle peanut butter over the crepes anyway, sooo I added PB to the whipped, and then it was super delish. There’s a nice run-on sentence for you. 😉 Obviously, strawberries and bananas are the perfect fruits for both chocolate and peanut butter – so that’s what I used. The red sprinkles, vegan chocolate chips, and coconut shreds were just taking the crepes from gold to platinum. Plus, it looked purdy, and I love me some purdy lookin’ food. Stay tuned for my Friday gab post. If you’re a Portlander or someone who may one day visit P-town (which you totally should – incredible city, incredible people, incredible state, all within the incredible PNW), this will be the post for you. A list with links and descriptions to my top 20 favorite vegan places to get grub. Until then! -FGG
PS- I chose this tune because I listen to Norah Jones every Saturday and Sunday morning when I cook. It is soooo relaxing.
Vegan Chocolate Crepes w/ PB & Coconut Whipped Cream
Ingredients for crepes:
1 C flour of your choice (spelt, garbanzo, all-purpose…)
1/4 C cacao powder – unsweetened (I have done it with chocolate protein powder! Great for post-workout but not quite as good)
6 oz sparkling water or non-dairy milk (I used almond milk)
1 egg replacement (I used Follow Your Heart)
1/4 C of some sort of sugar (coconut, agave, maple – I used maple)
1-2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp salt (I used Himalayan)
Ingredients & directions for whipped cream:
1 can of coconut milk, preferable full fat, that has been left in the refrigerator overnight
Creamy Peanut Butter to taste (I used about 1/4 C)
1-2 Tbl of sweetener (cane sugar, agave, maple, coconut)
1 tsp vanilla (optional)
Directions:
Scoop out the solidified coconut – do not use the liquid, coconut water
Whip all of the ingredients together until it is fluffy (I used my electric mixer)
Chocolate Crepe Directions:
Blend all of the ingredients together (I used my Vitamix) – Batter should be thin
Heat your griddle or pan with spray or coconut oil
Pour the batter to make a large and thin circle
Cook the crepes for about 1-2 minutes on each side – the batter should start to bubble on top
The crepes MUST cool before you add the whipped cream inside
Optional:
I topped mine with drizzled peanut butter, and then strawberries, bananas, red sprinkles, vegan chocolate chips, and shredded coconut
Pair with:
Colombian coffee (perfect pairing for these crepes)
Colombian coffee with Kahlua (my first choice) or Frangelico
