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If you dislike the sound of someone slurping through their straw to try to get every last little drop out of their cup then you probably shouldn’t make these smoothies. My kids absolutely LOVE them! And it all started when on a recent trip to buy groceries from Earth Fare we decided to also have lunch in their little cafe. While paying for our sushi I noticed that they had a surprisingly good smoothie menu, so on a whim I decided to order their PB&J smoothie for my girls (and me) to share. Well, that was a mistake…I should have gotten a large size for each of us! During the first 5 minutes of the lunch (which was as long as the smoothie lasted) all I could hear – aside from the slurping – was “I want more of it” ”it’s my turn for some” “she is drinking it all”. Need I say more?
I of course don’t have Earth Fare’s exact recipe so this is just my version that emulates theirs as best as I can. My daughters responded very similarly to this version so I would say it went over well. This is the best invention for kids since the original PB&J!!
- ⅓ cup milk
- ⅓ cup apple juice
- ⅓ cup peanut butter
- 1 – 2 bananas (I like using 2…but if you only have 1 on hand don’t let it stop you!)
- 1 cup frozen (or fresh) berries
- Optional: A handful of ice cubes if you use fresh berries
- Mix well in a blender and serve cold with a straw.
[...] made “Sunbutter Smoothies” for the kids and I am not sure if they enjoyed the yumminess [...]
Lisa, just made the smoothie for the kids. they had a taste, then I filled four smoothie pop molds. They loved it! thanks for a winner!
Love this recipe! AMAZING. I am very inspired by your website. I have shown my 5 year old all the pictures of your school lunches to get him excited about taking lunch to school this year. We have been testing the freezie pops and he loves them.
Do you use a regular blender when you add the kale or spinach? If so, what kind? My blender won’t turn greens into smoothies…..only frozen fruit.
Hi Victoria. Many people love the Vitamix. I personally have a Ninja which is much cheaper than the Vitamix and I think it does a great job. Jill
This may have already been asked but 1 of my 4 kids is allergic to peanuts. Have you (or anyone) substituted the PB w/any of the allergy friendly spreads like soy nut butter or Nutella? Thanks!
Hi Stephanie. I have not tried a substitution. Let us know how it goes if you give it a try. Jill
I bet it would be good with sun butter or whatever seed/nut butter your child likes. Nutella is not really a nut butter so much as a very sugary choclate srpead with a few nuts in it.
Hi Stephanie! We have tree nut and peanuts allergies in our house. We’ve done this smoothie with soy butter, sunflower butter, and sesame butter. All three were yummy, but chunky sunflower butter is our favorite. We use those for a 1:1 substitution for all recipes that call for peanut butter (including no bake cookies).
Made this smoothie for my son and I today. It was very yummy!
oh my we love it!!!
I was thinking of substituting almond milk for the milk. Has anyone tried it?
I love making smoothies, i have both the Nutra bullet & the Vitamixer and i use them both.
I lov almond milk i also use coconut milk, i always buy the unsweetened kind i have made my own almond milk as well
going to make this one for my breakfast in the morning minus the apple juice dont need the extra calories and with using furit it will be sweet enough.
Very tasty! May sub out greek yogurt for the milk to make it a touch thicker, but the munchkins inhaled this!
We have allergies to bananas in this house. Any suggestions for a substitute? Do you think just some plain yogurt would taste as good as a substitute for the banana?
Hi Val. The banana adds some additional sweetness, so, you may want to substitute another fruit for the banana. Jill
Just got our molds delivered & made theses smoothies (I snuck in more fruits). They are amazing! My kids don’t want to wait until they’re ‘frozen’ lol
AMAZING – highly addictive!
I am trying to cut out apple juice because of all of the sugar- do you either have a recommendation for a substitute or maybe a recommendation for a ‘healthy’ apple juice?
Hi Stacey. A healthy apple juice would be one that is organic, since apples are on the dirty dozen list: http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/, and should have no added ingredients. ~Amy
I can’t imagine mixing apple juice with milk. I’m not supposed to have milk although I do every once in a while, so I would substitute with almond or coconut milk. Is the apple juice to sweeten?
Hi Sandi. Most juices would add natural sweetness but smoothie recipes are easy to adapt to your own tastes. Enjoy. ~Amy
I mix & match smoothies a lot. A little oj instead of other juice adds a little tang. I also throw in some avocado for healthy fat & it thickens it some too.
Wow! Great recipe! I did not use the Apple juice however I did put in a little bit more of the almond milk. What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing this.
[...] muffins and they were a hit. I bought and starting using silicone popsicle molds to make our own smoothie pops. And today I made her Easy Cheesy Crackers. Definitely easy to make, and tasty, too. But I knew my [...]
Your recipe doesn’t state natural peanut butter, but that’s what I use, since regular peanut butter is a processed food, with lots of additives. I use natural, unsweetened applesauce in place of the apple juice, and 0% fat greek yogurt (vanilla) in place of the milk. The applesauce and the yogurt help make it a thicker drink.
Made this for breakfast this morning and it is incredible! A big hit with everyone in the house. It feels like I am havig a milkshake for breakfast, but it is healthy! Yum!
What kind of apple juice do you use? I feel like all the juice I see in the grocery store has sugar in it.
Hi Karen. There is no particular brand we recommend. You can find 100% organic apple juice in most grocery stores. Apple and Eve, Martinelli’s, and Santa Cruz are some popular brands. Hope that helps. ~Amy
Do you know how many servings this recipe is and also the calories per servings? Thank you!!
Hi Meghan. Sorry, but we do not track nutrition information. There are several “calculators” on line that you can use, however. ~Amy