Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie

I love peanut butter! In the Philippines, one of my mom's co-teacher make homemade peanut butter ever so often and we always made sure that we place an order so we get a jar or two of this favorite spread of ours! It's the  kind of Peanut Butter that I always imagine Peanut Butter should be - creamy, a little sweet and of course with the peanut oil floating on top to characterize its genuineness. For me, that's still the best peanut butter I have ever had and will always crave.

I have never thought though that the day would come that I would not only use peanut butter as a spread or for cooking (which is pretty common in the Philipines and most of Asia) but as an ingredient for a beverage. I can't drink peanut butter. Sounds awful, doesn't it?

But I have seen quite a few Peanut Butter Smoothies around and I have been intrigued ever since. So today to finally put this doubt (as to whether you can use peanut butter in a beverage or not) aside, I made my very first Peanut Butter Smoothie. I love texture in food so I used the crunchy Peanut Butter and yes, the kind with the floating oil on top!

My reaction - how could I have waited this long? I thought the only good smoothies are the pure fruity ones - mango, bananas, strawberry, avocado, soursop or a combo of any of these, just to name a few. Now this Peanut Butter smoothie has truly gone up the list and has knocked down one or two fruit smoothies in the process!

Of course, Peanut Butter is not complete without its sparring partner - the banana which add to the creamy flavor and gives it the smooth finish!

What a delightful smoothie! Use this recipe as a guide and then adjust as you please. I usually never measure a smoothie and depend on my taste buds for taste and texture.

Ingredients

2-3 ripe bananas (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup  Crunchy Peanut Butter (or to taste, I ended up adding more!)
Milk (begin with 1/2 a cup and then add more as needed)
1 Tbsp Agave nectar (or your favorite sweetener)
Ice (eyeball it)
1/2 tsp vanilla (optional)

*If your bananas are frozen, you probably don't need ice or only a few cubes. Just chop the bananas first so it's easier for the blender to break it down.

Procedure

Combine all the ingredients in a blender. If bananas are frozen, I place them on the bottom of the blender just like I would put ice (if using) on the bottom too. Process till everything is smooth and to your desired texture or consistency. I use the Smoothie/Milkshake button on my blender. Adjust the sweetness to your taste. Enjoy!

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