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2012#32 Complete: Discovered a Healthy Peanut Butter Shake
Resolution: Try a New Delicious Recipe
As we tumble along this journey of trying to eat well, lower carbs and cut calories, it’s pretty freaking heard to find food that’s low in calories that isn’t made up of a billion artificial sweeteners. In fact, if you have any good ones, definitely let us know in the comments!
So we donated our extra books to charity a while ago but hung onto a few that were meant for a couple of chubbos like us who want to eat better and lose weight. One of those books was the Eat Great, Lose Weight. I like it because it has a lot of pictures, and that’s sort of important when determining what you want to eat.
In any case, we’ve been rifling through the pages lately and I came across the Peanut Butter and Banana Shake, by Linda Quinonez of Burbank, Ca. Here’s the recipe, which I thought was pretty awesome as a liquid breakfast because the yogurt and peanut butter really do fill you up.
It’s about 350-400 calories depending on which brand of ingredients you choose. Mine came out to 399 calories, so I’ll let you know what I used. And yes I could have used fat-free yogurt, but our local market doesn’t carry it. You might think that 399 calories is pretty high for breakfast (I do), but not compared to the other breakfast options out there. Granola has something like 200 calories per 1/4 cup. Insane. So, this is pretty great and it actually makes you full which is important.
Anyway, here’s what you’ll want to blend together:
- 1 cup of yogurt ( we used Stonyfield Farms Low-Fat French Vanilla)
- 1 frozen banana
- 1 tablespoon peanut butter (we used Peanut Butter & Co. Bees Knees)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon honey
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
You might be tempted to skip on the extract, honey and cinnamon, but there’s simply not enough peanut butter in this shake to remove those ingredients, otherwise I think the yogurt would take over.
In any case, I know it wasn’t a chicken dinner or anything, but this is the recipe we tried, and probably the best low-calorie one I’ve found so far.
joe
I frequent the 300 calories or less page of allrecipes.com alot and find good ones there. I like that the user reviews are always pretty accurate so I still to the five-star ones. http://allrecipes.com/recipes/healthy-recipes/low-calorie/300-calories-or-less-per-serving/
Sally
I love Teddy peanut butter with flaxseed. It’s incredibly delicious and only $2.50. Many diets recommend almond butter (that is delicious too) but at $8 for the same size… Ouch! Comparing nutritional info… They are nearly identical and teddy is low in sugar too for those watching that.
Enjoyed the post and recipe! Thanks!
Tera
Hey lady! What a great site you have going here. I too am on a mission to health up!:) My two new favorite shakes are PB&J Protein shake and Apple Pie. YUM!
PB&J Protein Shake
1-2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder, 1Tbsp. organic heavy cream, 1Tbsp. all natural peanut butter, 1Tbsp sugar free strawberry (or any flavor) jelly, 4 ice cubes, 1 cup ice water. Blend and yum!
Apple Pie
1-2 scoops of vanilla whey protein powder, 1 sliced apple, 1Tbsp cinnamon, 1Tbsp of vanilla extract.
So happy for you and good luck with everything!!:)
-Terra
Luka
raw green beans dipped in hummus is an awesome mid day snack!
I eat raw baby spinach out of a bag like potato chips, but most people think thats weird.
also my version of the smoothie is simple and lower cal: one frozen banana, one tbs pb and one cup low fat soymilk or skim. if you use super ripe frozen bananas you def do NOT need the sweeteners!
Anna
For breakfast I like to make hot oatmeal and throw frozen fruit into it. Also, you can make a really flavorful omelette with 2 eggs, diced jalepeños and 1/4 cup extra sharp cheddar cheese. Also try 2 eggs, 1/4 spinach and 1tbsp feta.
For lunch, use one piece of bread, cut in half. Take 2-3 thin slices of turkey breast and twist them as you put them down on the bread. This makes The sandwich feel huge. Then pile on lettuce, and use a Dijon honey mustard. If you like avocado, add that. Cheddar cheese goes great on this sandwich.
For dinner, try chicken burgers stuffed with feta and pepper flakes pile spinach on top. You don’t even need a dressing.
Amanda
You guys rock! Love these ideas! Green beans and hummus? Love it. And twisting the turkey? Freaking genius. And I NEED to get into whey protein more, too. The protein shakes I was drinking before were WAY too high in carbs and sugars. 🙂