It tastes better than it looks.

Now that I’m back at my apartment, I figured I’d squeeze in some healthy meals to combat all those Christmas cookies that were way too hard to put down. I’ve never been much of a smoothie-instead-of-a-meal person, but this morning I decided to give it a go. Smoothies can be a really great way to pack in lots of fruits and veggies, and depending on the ingredients, they can serve a variety of beneficial purposes. They can also easily be pretty low-cal, so they’re a great meal to kind of detox after the holidays a bit.

My first job was actually working at a smoothie place, so I guess I’m somewhat of a smoothie expert. Just kidding. The smoothies I made there, while not necessarily “unhealthy” had frozen yogurt in them, and toppings like Oreos and chocolate syrup…not exactly something that’s going to fill you up with nutrients and keep you full. Of course, some of the smoothies there were actually pretty good for you…just not the ones I liked to make for myself…

This morning, I wanted a smoothie that would be good for after my morning workout, and taste good as well. Instead of going for the standard peanut butter banana concoction, I wanted to include a mixture of fruits and vegetables as well.

So, I looked in my fridge and pulled out my Better’n Peanut Butter for some protein, my bag of spinach, almond milk, and some frozen peaches. I also grabbed some cinnamon (it’s good for you, I don’t care if it sounds weird to add to a smoothie).

The end result? Seriously delicious. You really can’t taste the spinach, and the peanut butter and peach surprisingly go nicely together. The cinnamon was also virtually undetectable, but the nutritional benefits of everything were still all there! When I was working at the smoothie place, we only used fresh (or thawed) fruit, never frozen, but sometimes frozen fruit helps with the consistency. Plus, it can be way more convenient; in this case, the frozen peaches helped thicken the smoothie without me having to add a bunch of ice or yogurt.

This is an awesome smoothie to kick off the post-holiday detox, or to just whip up for breakfast any time!

Peanut Butter Peach Super Smoothie (makes 1 smoothie)

3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
1 tbsp Better’n Peanut Butter
1 cup fresh spinach
1/2 cup frozen peach slices
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 Truvia packet (optional, but it tasted way better with)
Ice (I only used three ice cubes)

Place ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Serve immediately.
Note: Feel free to use skim or soy milk if you don’t have almond milk; you can also use normal peanut butter instead of Better’n Peanut Butter, but it will increase the total calories. For more protein, add protein powder.

NUTRITIONAL INFO: 114 calories; 17g carbs; 3g fat; 6g protein; 6g sugar; 240g sodium