Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie

Now does it feel like summer or what? I had another fantastic cottage weekend (2 in a row) this past long weekend. It is so nice to be by the water with friends, relaxing by the water, boating, canoeing, making s'mores, drinking some beer, and getting mosquito bites. Well, maybe the last part isn't so nice, but it comes along with all the pleasures of a cottaging weekend.

Cooking kind of takes a back burner in the summer I think, as making a fresh salad and not turning on the oven sounds like a better idea. The recipe I am going to share with you today is just what the summer calls for. It does not require cooking, could replace a hot breakfast, is cold, and tastes like a delicious milkshake. I have been delaying sharing this recipe because I don't have a picture of it, but a request for a smoothie came along and did not want to delay in sharing this amazing recipe.

Peanut Butter Banana Protein Smoothie

1 cup soy milk
1 tbsp ground flax seed
1/2 medium banana
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1 tbsp peanut butter

1. Blend all ingredients until smooth.

This smoothie is actually amazing. It tastes so rich and the peanut flavour really comes through. I have yet to take a picture of this beauty, but it is a beige thick liquid with specks of flax throughout if not having a picture is throwing you off ;). A picture adds nothing to the story here.

In lieu of a picture of this plain looking smoothie, I am going to show you a picture I took of my meal two weekends ago when we went out for dinner in the Muskokas. It is just an iPhone pic, but it will have to do. A friend of mine has a fantastic picture, but he is being a bit slow in sending it to me *hint hint*. This post just could not wait. I am sure I will update the post with the much better picture, that my talented friend Derek took (me sucking up a bit), soon enough.  Updated picture from my friend Derek!

This was a beet risotto from the restaurant we went to somewhere in Muskoka. It was amazing. It was one of the few vegetarian dishes on the menu (unless they used chicken broth, but I don't think they did) and I ordered it out of curiosity. The risotto was creamy, sweet and had a touch of lemon, potentially just from the lemon zest. In the middle of the bowl was a thick slice of baked brie cheese, and pistachio pieces were sprinkles on top. The flavour combination was unreal. I hope to one day recreate this dish but I have a feeling it wont happen until the fall, as I could not bring myself to stand over a pot for an hour and a half in this heat. Instead, I think I will make a peanut butter banana smoothie.

Here are some other pictures of where I have been hanging out on the weekends:

Lake Joseph

Lake Joseph

Maple Lake

Slacker!

I have been slacking. But not ACTUALLY. While I am unsure how many of my invitees actually read this blog, I hope I am being missed somewhat. I have had a busy week with my graduation, grad party, work, and trying to exercise. The last few weekends have done a number on my eating habits, so this week I was trying to get back to normal. I have been eating some pretty plain food, nothing too exciting. Lots of overnight oats, veggies, cottage cheese, and legumes.

I finally tried the popular trend of overnight oats and I was delighted! They really are quite good, and you can play around with the recipe to suit your taste. A good change from regular oatmeal. I have been adding 1/2 cup soy milk to 1/3 cup oats, 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed, and cinnamon. It is also good with mashed up banana (add 1/4 cup more milk).

With regards to cottage cheese, this food has gone from an intolerable enemy to a yummy favourite for me. I choose the 1% fat variety to make it more satisfying. It is good with veggies, fruits, or nuts!

In searching for a post-bike ride high protein lunch, I mixed 1/2 cup red lentils, 1/2 cup quinoa, and 1/4 cup cottage cheese. It was delicious! I don't have a photo for that one, but it isn't very pretty anyway.

I am going to try some new recipes this evening to have for tomorrow. At the Locke St. Farmer's Market I picked up some garlic scapes, which is the green portion of a garlic plant. I also picked up some nutritional yeast at Goodness Me, which I have been wanting to get for a long time. These are both foreign ingredients for me so this should be interesting!

I'll post with the results soon!