Green Peanut Butter Smoothie with Chunky Monkey Granola

This is currently one of my favorite ways to make a smoothie. It comes out thick and creamy, perfect for a granola topper. My chunky monkey granola works great on top of this smoothie. This is the perfect smoothie to have after a sweaty workout! It is packed with nutrients (spinach, banana) and protein. I recently picked up xanthan gum when I was in Las Vegas. I started adding 1/2 teaspoon to my smoothies and it really helps binding everything together so it stays super creamy. I’d highly recommend the purchase, it will last you a while!

Green Peanut Butter Smoothie                                                               Serves 1 hungry person

Ingredients

4 ounces almond milk

4 ounces water, chilled

1/2 banana, sliced and frozen

1 heaping tablespoon peanut flour (Trader Joe’s or PB2)

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

Dash sea salt and cinnamon  

Handful baby spinach

4-5 ice cubes

1-2 tablespoons chunky monkey granola

Directions

Put ingredients in order and blend away. Depending on consistency you can add more liquid or ice. I tend to add more ice, for a thicker smoothie. Pour in a huge glass and top with chunky monkey granola. Eat with spoon and enjoy!

           I do the straw/spoon combo!

Fallon

Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie

First let me start by saying I'm on this pumpkin craze as you can see! I hate to see the canned pumpkin go bad, so I've been trying to use it up in all kinds of recipes/meals. Most of it is experimenting because I still can't seem to get that "correct" pumpkin flavor you would find from a pumpkin pie! So I'm debating if pumpkin is something I really like? Well I did enjoy my breakfast cookie I made the other day. If you haven't heard of breakfast cookies yet then you are missing out! I discovered the breakfast cookie on a health/fitness blog called The Fitnessista. You make it the night before and in the morning you have this fabulous breakfast that mimicks a "cookie" but really it just an easy way to eat oatmeal. It's too soft to eat with your hand so a spoon is required. During the summer season it is too hot to eat warm oats, so this breakfast cookie is a great substitute. Here is her link on how to make her version of the breakfast cookie. It's a good basic recipe to follow but many blogs have branched off to make their own version of a breakfast cookie. Which is what I have here for you today!  

Pumpkin Oatmeal Breakfast Cookie (Adapted from The Fitnessista)  
Ingredients
40g or 1/2 cup of old fashion oats
1 tbsp of PB2
1 tbsp of brown rice protein powder (I used chocolate, Jarrow brand)
1 tbsp of ground flax seed
Dash of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice (as much as you need to get the right flavor consistency)
2 heaping tablespoons of canned pumpkin (if you have fresh, use it!)
2 tsp of pure maple syrup
Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (I used Almond Breeze)  
Garnish- Almond butter, vanilla yogurt (So Delicious Coconut milk), and sliced almonds

In a bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add the spice. Next add the pumpkin and mush it into the dry ingredients. Add the maple syrup and a little bit of almond milk. Mix and keep adding the milk till you get a cookie that is moist but not watery. On a plate flatten the cookie mixture to form a cookie. Cover and place in the fridge over night. Before eating the cookie I like to garnish it with a drizzle of almond butter, a spoonful of yogurt in the middle and sprinkle some sliced raw almonds on top. Grab and spoon and dig in!

I couldn't wait to eat this! 
  Just a little close up of the goodness ;)

I mentioned in my last post about a Turkey Chili my mom makes. Well she did make it and it has been my meal for the last few days. I'm waiting to post the recipe because I've been having different variations of the chili. What I really want to make with it is some corn muffins... more specifically Pumpkin Cornmeal Muffins! Which I found on the Wholefoods website. Work been keeping me busy and just making me slightly lazy to do any baking. I'll get to it soon though because my goal is to use up all my canned pumpkin! Technically it is my Friday today but I only have 1 day off. Not a fan of split days off! 

Have a good one, 

Fallon

FINALLY it is here!!!

What is here? Well one of the best creations ever. I first discovered PB2 on The Daily Plate forums. It is made by a company called Bell Plantation, Inc. It is a powdered peanut butter and has 85% less fat than your typical peanut butter. For more nutritional information click here. Click the pictures from the link and they will give you more information about their products. Now, will this ever replace real peanut butter for me? Of course not. I still used natural peanut butter for sandwiches, celery and just a spoon dipped in the jar. I love the fattiness of nut butters to not completely give it up, only if I had too! The powdered peanut butter is great for other things like in my protein shakes after I work out, as a lower fat frosting for brownies, and a dip for my frozen bananas. You can even make a Thai peanut sauce out of it as well. This stuff is amazing, and has many possibilities. I've been using it for over a year now and I just got my new shipment today. This time I ordered their new chocolate PB2. Haven't tried it yet, but chocolate anything makes me very happy! They are a great company. I haven't had any problems with them or with the products itself. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves peanut butter. All you do is take 2 tablespoons or 12g of the PB2 and mix it with water. Depending on what consistency you want either thick to thin, I like about 3 teaspoons of water. It is slightly thick but not super thin, just right. It my favorite snack with frozen bananas! Check out their website by clicking here. Order it. You will love it!!! Come back Friday night, I'm making those famous mini cupcake bites from Bakerella for my best friend's baby shower!! See you soon, Fallon