Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I sometimes find myself compartmentalizing objects into some weird filing system in my head, therefore limiting their possible uses outside of my head. For example, I may buy a sweater to go with a particular pair of pants for work, and it doesn't occur to me that I could wear that sweater with anything other than those pants. Then, one day I might be out and about, and spot someone wearing a similar sweater with a pair of jeans and a scarf, making a great casual ensemble, and I think "hey, that looks good". So, I try it myself, and from that moment forward, my sweater has multiple uses. But, if not for spotting the sweater used in that context, I may never have worn it with anything but the designated work pants. Now, I realize this is not in any way profound, but I catch myself doing it here and there, and when I do, I think, "that was so silly of me because this 'insert object' clearly has many other obvious uses". I do this with food sometimes too.

A few summers ago, I went through a smoothie phase. I was mixing up all sorts of things into smoothies, every day. I was making nice thick ones for a hearty breakfast, and light refreshing ones to drink after a run in the heat. Then, summer was over, and my smoothies were as scarce as the geese who had migrated south. It wasn't until the next summer that I pulled out my blender for some smoothie action. This past summer, I kind of forgot about smoothies altogether. When I realized this at some point in the Fall, I felt really disappointed that I missed out on the opportunity. "Oh well", I thought, "there's always next summer". Then, one day in January, I was talking with one of my co-workers, Kriste, who was telling me about the delicious smoothie she'd had for breakfast that morning. A smoothie in January?! Of course! Two mornings later I was whipping one up for myself! Thank you, Kriste, for the inspiration. Here is my favorite breakfast smoothie (By the way, it did not occur to me until this very moment that this post also begins with a "P". That was not intentional!):

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
1 frozen banana ( You need to put it in the freezer the night before. You also need to peel it and cut it before you freeze it. I learned this the hard way. Have you ever tried to peel a frozen banana?)
2 tblsp peanut butter
6 or 8 oz of soy, almond or rice milk, sweetened or unsweetened
Some toasted wheat germ or ground flax seed
1/4 cup or so plain or vanilla yogurt (optional, depending on how thick you want your smoothie)
Agave nectar or honey to taste (this may not be necessary if you've used vanilla flavored milk or yogurt)
1. Toss everything into a blender and press a button.