Peanut Butter Smoothies

I used to work at a little coffee shop in Golden, Colorado where we used to make the best peanut butter smoothies.  I would often have one for breakfast or lunch, sometimes with a little protein powder, to keep me fueled until my shift was over.  I don't work at the coffee shop anymore but I still love to make these at home.  If you're ever in downtown Golden, make sure to stop by the Windy Saddle.

I bought my sister a blender for Christmas for the sole reason of being able to make these.  Ami loves anything cute, mashed potatoes, photography and peanut butter.  She lives in California where smoothies are appropriate at anytime of the year and she has been asking me to create this post for a little while now.  So, here it is Ami.  Hope you like it.

Aside from the chocolate syrup, this smoothie is really quite healthy.  It's also budget friendly!  I found a three pound sack of bananas at the store for $0.87 the other day.  They were starting to turn a little brown but in a smoothie, the riper the fruit the more sweetness it will add to the drink.  If you have a lot of bananas, and don't plan to use them anytime soon, peel and freeze them.  You can take it right out of the freezer and throw it into your blender.

What you need:

Ice

Milk

Yogurt

Peanut butter

Chocolate syrup or powder (or you can use chocolate milk)

Banana

For a 16oz glass:

Fill cup to the top with ice.  Pour milk over ice until it reaches half way up the cup, dump into blender.  Add a spoonful of yogurt, a heaping spoonful of peanut butter, a squeeze of chocolate syrup and half a banana.  Blend, using ice crush option if available.  Add more ice or milk, depending on desired consistency.

No espresso machine? No Problem. Homemade Peppermint Mochas

I used to be the type of girl who went to Starbucks everyday her coffee.  And when I say everyday, I mean every day.  Sometimes twice a day.  I'd spend about $3.50 for a fancy drink and another $1.00 for tip.  That's at least $130 a month!  My grocery budget isn't even that much now.  It was an addiction for me...  One that took many years to break.

I still like going to the coffee shop to treat myself, especially after Thanksgiving when the peppermint mochas first come out.  It's just one of those things that makes me really happy and I look forward to them every year.

Today is one of those days where I would love a peppermint mocha...  It's cold and cloudy and I have the day off.  I can't get to Starbucks because I don't have a car (Matt is at work) and, honestly, I don't want to spend $4.50 on a drink knowing that the groceries for tonight's dinner (chicken coq au vin with roquefort potato gratin) didn't cost that much. 

Still, I would like a peppermint mocha.

I know it's really not the time for peppermint but I still have candy canes leftover from Christmas.  I figured it can't be that hard to recreate one of my favorite drinks so I tried it out.  I think I was pretty successful. 

Peppermint Mocha (about a 16 oz cup)

1 1/2 cup milk
1/2 of a candy cane
2 Tbsp ground coffee (or whole beans)
chocolate sauce or powder to taste

If you're using ground coffee, place grounds in the center of a filter.  Create a little pouch (see pictures below) and tie off using a twist tie.

Coffee into filter.

 Pouch into milk.

 Milk becomes flavored with coffee.

Bring the milk to a boil with the candy cane in a small pot.  Take off the heat and place your coffee pouch in the pot and let sit for about five minutes.  Remove the pouch from the milk and gently squeeze, being careful not to tear the filter.  Put milk back on the heat and once it starts to simmer, turn off stove.  Add chocolate to taste.  The candy cane should be melted.  Serve with whipped cream and crushed candy cane.

I only had ground coffee but you can also steep whole beans (without making a filter purse) for five minutes and then strain the milk into another pot.  Discard the beans and follow procedure above.

For peppermint hot chocolate, omit coffee.

Smoothies

A couple of months ago we received a Cuisinart blender/food processor from Matt's mom. It is a remarkable piece of equipment and is the second most frequently used item in the kitchen, the first being the coffee maker. It is pretty amazing the things that you can make with it, a lot of which I hope to write about in future blogs. But first things first. Smoothies.

Why purchase a smoothie from a coffee or smoothie shop when you can make them yourself?

Not only do coffee house smoothies cost about $4 for a 16 oz cup, in most cases they are loaded with sugar and other weird things that aren't naturally found on this earth. Smoothies can be a really healthy, filling way to start off your day if you make them right. To me, it also feels like I'm having a little treat... Especially if you throw a little coconut rum in there on your days off from work.

Purchase ingredients that are in season and a home-made smoothie can be fairly cheap. The smoothies I make run me about $1.20 for a 16 oz portion. The riper the fruit, the sweeter the smoothie will be. Sometimes you can find over-ripe bananas (perfect for smoothies) for $0.25 a pound. That will cut the cost of the smoothies significantly because the bananas I purchased cost $0.70 per pound. Bananas can also be frozen if you happen to buy a bunch of them on sale.



Here is what I typically put in my smoothies...

Makes about two 12 oz cups

16 oz cup full of ice cubes
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup blueberries
4 or 5 medium-sized strawberries
1 banana
squeeze of honey

Blend until the consistency is smooth (Use the ice crush option if it is available). If it is too thin, add more ice. If it is too thick, add more juice. If you want a creamier smoothie, add a little yogurt or milk. If you want to catch a buzz, add some rum. You can change up the fruit, the juice, add protein powder... The possibilities are endless.