‘That’s my life and I don’t have to justify it…’
I made a smoothie. Yes indeed. I made an actual, whole entire smoothie. I want to share it with you, but please know that I am sharing it with you because it tastes delicious and is basically a milkshake. That’s why I’m calling this recipe –pfft, it’s not even a recipe really- a Shake as opposed to a Protein Shake or some other nonsense, because it felt like I was drinking a milkshake as opposed to a protein shake, so let’s get that fundamentally clear.
I wanted to lie to myself and say I would start drinking smoothies and blend up things and taking juices to work and take the stairs and all that nonsense. I know I won’t do it to begin with, let alone attempt to keep it up, so I decided to call this what it was – a ‘sort-of’ milkshake that had some kind of protein in it which tasted fantastic but just had the added bonus of being fairly good for me.
And why does Mikey Bell own chia seeds, you wonder? Well because they were £1 in Home Bargains and I’m always up for finding out what the hell the fuss is all about. Plus I’ve been working on a chia-coated fish recipe, but more on that some other time, so this shake is the product of resourcefulness and getting every penny worth of the pound.
That’s why I have them. So there.
This shake is thick, tasty and really gives your day the kick up the arse it begs for. I drank the majority of this before going on a shopping run before the New Year, stashing the leftovers in the fridge. The leftovers were then consumed when I was in about four hours deep into the worst hangover of my life (also my birthday!) and I will say the shake worked wonders.
I guess it would be ideal here if I went into all the nutritional values. Protein this, energy that, life saving this, live longer that… but I don’t know what the nutritional value of any of this is. I didn’t even know peanut butter was considered good for you. All I know is that it tasted fantastic and it contains no proper sugar, so that’s got to mean something right?
There is absolutely no recipe involved here – the nerve of me. You take a normal every day banana, peel the thing and throw it in a blender. To this you drop in half a tablespoon of chia seeds, a tablespoon of smooth peanut butter, a sprinkle of cinnamon, a quick drip of honey, a small shot of natural Greek yoghurt and half a cup of milk. Press the button and blend everything into a thick, delicious shake.
Check the consistency and if you feel you want it slightly runnier – I like mine to be like cement – but feel free to add a little more milk if need be.
And there you have it. In an ideal world, you’ll want to consume this as you’re putting on your running leggings, your neon trainers, a sweat band and pressing whatever buttons on your stepometre or wrist watch thing that counts your mileage.
But I drank mine while lying in bed with the dog passed out on my chest, a marathon of Sex and the City on the TV and my head pounding and begging for repent.
And Samantha Jones would say, “That’s my life and I don’t have to justify it”.
MIKEY AND THE KITCHEN. 