Fridays call for peanut butter and chocolate. When I woke up this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was get out of bed. But knowing that I had a peanut butter banana chocolate smoothie bowl in store motivated me to get moving.

Peanut butter and banana is one of my favorite combinations of all time. When I was growing up, I would always order the “All Shook Up” concrete from Ted Drewes, a local frozen custard store. The concrete came with, as you can probably guess, peanut butter and bananas. I found out that they named it after Elvis because he also loved bananas and peanut butter and so he would order this concrete when he came to St. Louis.

ANYWAY. This smoothie bowl comes as close to being dessert without actually being dessert as possible. Actually, let’s just call it what it is: dessert. I have no shame. It’s delicious and everyone should eat it, if not on Fridays, then another day during the week when you need motivation or something to look forward to.

The game-changer in this bowl is the coconut. I decided to put it in at the last minute. Sometimes, afterthoughts bring the best inspiration. The coconut flavor balances the salty peanut butter and sweet bananas, and also pairs well with the chocolate. It’s kind of like a life raft for the rest of the ingredients in the bowl.

In other news, John Mayer dropped some new tracks today. I feel the way about John that I would about an ex: I like him somewhat apologetically and not without fond memories. Sometimes when I listen to his music, I think to myself, “every song sounds the same.” This troubles yet soothes me. Sometimes, especially in trying times like the ones we’re facing lately, we could use some constancy.

Here’s one of my favorite new releases. And here’s a John Mayer song that will always hold a special place in my heart for no reason, really. I used to play it sometimes before I went to class in college and my roommate told me that she liked it. It was one of the few things that we agreed on.

Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie Bowl (from me, to you)

Ingredients

2 bananas, 1 whole and 1 sliced into rounds
2 tbsp chunky peanut butter (who likes creamy?)
1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup rolled oats
blueberries, coconut, granola, chopped dark chocolate for topping

Directions

Blend one whole banana, chunky peanut butter, almond milk and rolled oats in a blender on high until smooth. Top with blueberries, coconut, granola, more banana and chopped dark chocolate. Enjoy!