Peanut Butter Cocoa Smoothie

Did you know a Canadian was the first to patent peanut butter?

In 1884, Marcellus Gilmore Edson (February 7, 1849 - March 6, 1940) from Montreal, Quebec was issued a patent for peanut butter. According to Wikipedia, “His cooled product had 'a consistency like that of butter, lard, or ointment' according to his patent application. He included the mixing of sugar into the paste so as to harden its consistency.”

As a child of the 70s, I grew up on Kraft dinner, lime soda and peanut butter and often watched The Six Million Dollar Man, Little House on the Prairie, & MASH. I'm sure there were healthier foods and other shows but that's what I remember. I also remember sometimes being allowed to eat dinner on our collapsible TV trays! Those were the days :)

Speaking of peanut butter, I don't eat it as much anymore but occasionally use it in my smoothies, including this one. When made with plain yogurt this smoothie has a tangy flavour that reminds me of sour cream ganache. If you use vanilla yogurt it will be milder and sweeter. Originally, I was going for a peanut butter cup type of flavour only to discover that I was running out of peanut butter so I went for more cocoa flavor. But feel free to add as much peanut butter as you want!

The great thing about this smoothie is that it will satisfy your sweet tooth and your chocolate craving at the same time - without the extra refined sugar and fat found in a chocolate bar or milkshake!

Makes 3 small smoothies.

Ingredients

2-3 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp cocoa
2/3 cup yogurt - plain or vanilla
1 tsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 medium banana
6 ice cubes

Instructions

Place everything in a blender or Nutribullet and blend until smooth.