Normally, I don’t keep peanut butter in my kitchen because, like with ice cream, I can’t eat that shit responsibly. Fool me once, shame on you, Peanut Butter. Fool me twice, shame on me. Down a jar with a spoon in under two days for the twentieth time, and I GIVE UP DAMNIT. (That’s how the saying goes, right?)

But, in the spirit of Thanksgiving binging, I decided to indulge myself at the grocery store. And, shockingly, I’ve been putting it to use in a healthy way, save for the occasional finger dip-and-swoosh move. (Don’t judge me; food tastes better when you eat it with your fingers.)

If you’ve never added peanut butter to your smoothies, you’re not doing it right. This peanut butter berry smoothie is delicious, refreshing and filling. A perfect breakfast option.

 INGREDIENTS

This will make 2 servings:

• 2 cups frozen mixed berries (Whole Foods sells a frozen berry mix of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries)
• 1 handful fresh raspberries
• 1 handful fresh blackberries
• 1 banana, chopped
• ½ cup low-fat 1% milk
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 tbsp flax seeds (optional)

What’s your favorite smoothie ingredient?

Nutrition Facts

Calories: 314
–Calories from Fat: 79
Total Fat: 6g
–Saturated Fat: 1g
Cholesterol: 3mg
Sodium: 101mg
Total Carbohydrate: 49g
–Dietary Fiber: 13g
–Sugars: 22g
Protein: 10g

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This smoothie took me out of my comfort zone. Normally, when I think “smoothie,” I think “fruit.” And with fruit comes a certain level of sweetness. While this pumpkin smoothie does contain banana, it struck me as a little flat at first sip. And I don’t necessarily mean that in a bad way—you just need to go into this wanting a healthy, pumpkin breakfast drink, and not a summery fruit smoothie.

Taking inspiration from the countless Shipyard Pumpkin Head beers with cinnamon-sugar rims I’ve already consumed this fall at various Boston bars, I decided to add a pumpkin butter and cinnamon rim to this smoothie. BOOM. Talk about a taste improvement. Healthy pumpkin breakfast beverage turned into delicious, lip-licking autumn smoothie.

INGREDIENTS

• ½ cup canned pumpkin puree (or puree fresh pumpkin yourself if you enjoy overachieving and annoying others)
• ½ cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt
• 1 tbsp pumpkin butter
• 1 banana
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• For the rim: a smidge of pumpkin butter (smidge is a technical term) and a pinch of cinnamon

Mix everything together in a blender.

Invert a glass in pumpkin butter to coat the rim. Alternatively, just dip your finger in the pumpkin butter jar and smear it around the rim. I did the latter because I am a Neanderthal. Next, dip the rim in cinnamon, or just sprinkle it around the edge on top of the pumpkin butter.

Pour in the smoothie and enjoy!

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This cherry kale smoothie is one of my favorite ways to start off the week (especially if I’ve been blowing off working out and enjoying a beer or two or ten all weekend). It’s delicious, but not so overwhelming fruity that you forget it’s healthy. Every time I make it I feel like I’m restarting myself for the week.

Here’s what you’ll need for this cherry kale smoothie:

• 1 heaping cup pitted cherries
• 1 banana (put it in your freezer over night to bring down the temperature of your smoothie)
• 2 handfuls kale
• ½ cup orange juice
• 1 tbsp. flax seed

This green smoothie is filling and makes for the perfect breakfast. Even better, it takes advantage of cherries, which will only be in-season for a little while longer. It’s depressing how quickly summer is coming to an end, but I’m not going to lie, I’m pretty dang excited for fall foods. COME TO ME, HONEYCRISP APPLES!

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