The other night before I fell asleep, I had a stroke of genius: A PB&J smoothie bowl.

I’m a huge fan of the sandwich, and I’ve been eating a lot of PB&J toast lately. So this seemed like a natural next step.

I don’t know what makes PB&J so good. Maybe it’s the salty/sweet flavor. Maybe it’s the combination of the two spreads against the soft bread. Maybe it’s the fact that you can eat it almost every day for the beginning of your young life and still crave it 20 years later. Whatever it is, it’s working.

For the bowl, I didn’t want to imitate the sandwich as much as pay homage to it. I thought about adding real jam or jelly to the smoothie, but then I decided that I could achieve the same flavors by using real fruit.

To make the smoothie thicker and more reminiscent of real PB&J, I added some rolled oats into the mix. I’m going to start adding them all the time now. They’re discreet and flavorless, but still add something to the bowl. They’re the perfect secret weapon.

I topped the bowl with some vanilla granola, but I bet almonds would have tasted just as good. I also drizzled some real peanut butter on top because you can never have too much peanut butter.

Here’s a song that I revisited recently. It also describes my feelings about this smoothie bowl.

PB&J Smoothie Bowl (from me, to you)

Ingredients

1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup almond milk
1 banana
1/2 cup strawberries, green stems removed
1 heaping tbsp of peanut butter (I used crunchy)
more sliced strawberries and bananas for topping
1 tbsp granola for topping
peanut butter for drizzling

Directions

Combine the rolled oats, almond milk, banana, strawberries and peanut butter in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Top with strawberries, bananas, granola and a drizzle of peanut butter. To get the peanut butter thin enough for drizzling, heat it for a few seconds in the microwave until soupy. Enjoy!