I do consider this to be a kind of treat, but it’s a treat that I have every day, and it is delicious, filling, and provides a much needed afternoon energy boost. It’s part of our routine to have it at about three o’clock as an in-between snack and it’s easy and excellent. The smoothie is vegan as written.

Depending on the time of year or what’s available, this blueberry peanut butter smoothie is another everyday favourite. If you’re looking for a high-protein option (specifically for weight gain, or athletes) try this chocolate raspberry protein shake without any powders.

Ingredients

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Milk: pictured is homemade oat milk. If we don’t have milk, we use water, which is just as good in a different way. Water will make for a lighter smoothie which can be nice in warmer weather. Use any milk you like.
• Strawberries: if you want to use fresh strawberries, I recommend freezing the bananas instead. If you like a rather thin smoothie then neither need to be frozen.
• Dates: these should be soft to blend fully, but don’t need to be fancy medjool dates. Sub a liquid sweetener if preferred or leave it out altogether.
• Peanut butter: sub any kind of nut or seed butter. If using something like sunflower seed butter, you might want to add another date. It should be unsweetened and without oil added.
• Vanilla: optional, but makes it taste a little sweeter. Leave it out or sub something like a pinch of cardamom instead.

Step by Step

Step 1: add all of the ingredients to a blender.

Step 2: mix until very smooth and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes

An immersion blender works perfectly well for this smoothie, even if it’s not a particularly powerful one (and you certainly don’t need a Vitamix). We don’t usually have a blender and make it with our immersion blender in a wide-mouth jar instead.

If your blender has a hard time mixing large fruits like strawberries, let the berries thaw for a little while before making the smoothie. Mix longer than you think is needed to ensure a nice smooth drink.

Increase the peanut butter if you want to omit the dates – the added fat makes the smoothie seem sweeter.

Expert Tips

• Drink it right away: the bananas will cause discolouration and it will taste a bit off if stored in the refrigerator. Plan to serve immediately after blending.
• Use ripe fruit: the riper the bananas in particular, the sweeter the smoothie will be. If you’re using very ripe bananas you won’t need to add the dates.
• Soak the dates: to soften slightly dry dates, soak them in very hot water for about half an hour before blending. This is a good tip if your smoothie has a hard time mixing dates too.

More Smoothie Recipes

Apple Banana Smoothie
Nectarine Smoothie
Banana Avocado Smoothie
Strawberry Watermelon Smoothie