As someone who’s eaten Greek yogurt religiously for 5 years, I was suspicious when Stonyfield announced a new protein-packed non-yogurt.
In July I got to go to Stonyfield’s launch party and try them out. It was swanky, it was fun, and–most importantly–it was delicious. The Petite Creme(technically a cheese and not a yogurt) is just as velvety smooth and sweet as you could hope.
It comes in 7 flavors; my favorite were the vanilla, which tastes like a rich vanilla bean, the strawberry, which tasted like a strawberry cream candy, and the plain. I rarely use plain greek yogurt in savory dishes because of the strong tang it has but this is something I’d put regularly on soup, dips, or even tacos.
It was hard to make a recipe with any of these because I just wanted to eat them straight with a spoon. I thought this smoothie was a perfect compromise because it’s just as creamy and sweet as the yogurt itself.
You can try this recipe with any of their flavors and any sort of jam. They all taste delicious so you can’t go wrong and make a bad batch. I love using jam as a sweetener in smoothies instead of sugar or honey because it’s a little bit more “natural”(albeit that depends on the brand) and can add an extra subtle flavor.
Strawberry Banana Cream Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 1 servings):
- 1 5.3oz cup strawberry Petite Creme
- 1 medium banana
- 1 Tablespoon strawberry jam
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3-4 ice cubes
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until thick and smooth. Make sure not to over-blend.
- Poor into a glass and enjoy cool.
Stonyfield is also hosting an Instagram competition where you can win some Petite Creme from them! The contest is almost over but you can read how to enter here to win a case of Petite Creme or $1000 gift card. Look through the #cheatongreek hashtag for some inspiration.
I somehow have become a morning exerciser. The first day of waking up, rolling out of bed, and putting on gym shorts instead of a pot of coffee was rough. The second was just as rough. But every day since it’s gotten a little easier.
After working out I’ve been more inclined to make a smoothie than bowl of oatmeal or anything else. It’s quick and easy to drink when getting ready for work. I’ve been trying different mixes to keep things interesting every time and this one is a winner.
It has the classic flavor of the inside of a PB & J, just in liquid form. It’s perfectly sweet and even packs some greens in it, too, if you opt in for the spinach(which you won’t be able to see or taste fully blended–I promise).
If you’re not a fan of peanut butter or just don’t have any lying around try making this with almond butter or even coconut butter.
Vegan PB & J Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 1 meal serving or 2 snack servings):
Method:
-
Add all of the ingredients to a high-power blender.
-
Pulse briefly and then blend until the ingredients make a creamy smoothie. Add water if necessary to make smooth and creamy.
-
Pour into a tall glass and drink cold.
Now that it’s no longer cold out it’s hard to get excited about a bowl of oatmeal or stove-cooked breakfast in the morning. It’s a lot easier to down a quick smoothie–especially if it’s chocolate.
You’ll be surprised how much this smoothie tastes like a chocolate covered strawberry, especially since it’s fat-free. There are no chocolate chips in the recipe but I wouldn’t stop you from adding a few on top.
Personally I think chocolate and raspberries or chocolate and blueberries go together just as well as chocolate and strawberries. I’d recommend trying this one out with any berry you love most.
If you‘re a grown-up and don’t have chocolate milk you can use regular milk and add a little cocoa powder and a tablespoon of sugar or honey. Adding protein powder or chia seeds will help make this more fulling for a complete meal.
Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):
Method:
-
Add all of the ingredients to a high-power blender.
-
Pulse briefly and then blend until the ingredients make a creamy smoothie.
-
Pour into a tall glass and drink cold.
Marathon Monday is just a week away. Growing up in Massachusetts, it was always a big deal. I was shocked to find out it wasn’t actually a national holiday and most people work on Marathon Monday.
This year Stonyfield Greek is the official yogurt of the 2014 Boston Marathon. They asked their Clean Plate Club members to write how Stonyfield Greek helps us through the marathon of life.
When I was marathon training, there were 4 foods I constantly ate: Peanut butter, bananas, oatmeal, and greek yogurt. After so many weeks you learn the little ways to not make every snack or meal taste like the last.
Even though I haven’t registered for a marathon since 2011, I still make working out and running a routine. Making a smoothie instead of a meal is an easy, tasty way to refuel and move on to the next part of my day.
I never get tired of this recipe. It’s not too sweet or overly peanuty; it’s just the right balance of ingredients to be healthy and perfectly flavorful.
Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 1 big or 2 small servings):
- 1 banana, sliced
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter
- 1 5.oz Stonyfield vanilla yogurt
- 1/2 cup milk
- 6-8 ice cubes
Method:
- Combine the banana, peanut butter, yogurt, and milk in a blender and mix until smooth.
- Add in the ice cubes and continue blending until they’re completely crushed and mixed in.
- Pour and serve cold.
Winter is sadly not a great time for fresh fruit and vegetables in New England. When I go to the store I usually pick up all different kinds of frozen produce. Frozen fruit will unfortunately never taste as good as fresh when thawed and eaten but thankfully makes a delicious smoothie.
This is good to have in the morning if you’re in a rush to get out the door or even at night after dinner for something healthy and delicious. If you use a Greek style yogurt you can really pump up the protein in this drink.
If you use a flavored yogurt instead of plain you can skip the added sweetener altogether. Try using white chocolate chips for a different flavor.
Strawberry Chocolate Chip Smoothies
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 2 servings):
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1 cup milk
- 1 Tablespoon agave nectar
- 2 Tablespoons chocolate chips
Method:
- Combine the yogurt, strawberries, milk and agave nectar in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add in the chocolate chips and pulse a few times until they’re broken into smaller pieces.
- Pour and serve immediately.
This is one of those moments where I have to eat my words.
I’m sure if you searched through all my tweets you’d find one about how I’d never, ever eat a smoothie with spinach in it. Well the joke’s on me because I’ve been having one or more of these a day for the past few weeks.
Once you get past the color that makes you think you’re drinking Kermit the Frog, you’d be surprised how good green smoothies can taste. And you know they’re better for you than whatever you can get at an Orange Julius in the mall.
If you do add chia seeds or protein powder then I would recommend adding more water so the mixture doesn’t thicken up too much. For an ice-cold smoothie, freeze the banana ahead of time.
Orange Spinach Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 2 cups):
- 1 banana
- 1 orange
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach
- 1/2 cup water
- chia seeds(optional)
- protein powder(optional)
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients in your blender.
- Process until smooth.
- Drink immediately while still fresh.
I promise it tastes better than it looks.
Have you entered the Blendtec and Stonyfield Blends giveaway yet? There’s still a few days left!
Having a reliable blender has improved my eating habits in a lot of unexpected ways. I’ve started having more fruit smoothies and vegetable juices throughout the day. A lot of the time I enjoy them so much I forget they’re healthy.
By far my favorite is a chocolate peanut butter smoothie; I don’t think there’s any surprise there. It’s similar to having a Reese’s cup but you can have it everyday and still feel good. How does something like that even exist?
You can use milk, almond milk, or coconut milk in place of the water; however, I think this is deliciously creamy as is on account of the peanut butter. If you ever need to make peanut or almond milk in a jiffy, you can make it by blending ~1 Tablespoon of nut butter with a cup of water.
Peanut Butter Banana Breakfast Smoothie
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 0 minutes
Ingredients(Makes 1 serving):
- 1 banana, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
- 2 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder
- 1 Tablespoon honey(optional)
- 1/2 cup water
- 2/3 cup ice
- 1 scoop protein powder(optional)
Method:
- Combine all of the ingredients in a blender.
- Blend until smooth and creamy.
- Pour and serve cold.
Simple and delicious.
