When we were in the early stages of planning Think.Make.Share, we knew we had to get advice from Ali Ebright, a super-smart blogger who founded the very popular Gimme Some Oven. Lucky for us, Ali has also done some photo styling for Union Hill, our in-house photography and video production studio, so we count her as a Hallmarker. She gets us, and we love her. Ali is guest-blogging for us today to share a Mother’s Day or new-mom gift idea and smoothie recipe—both perfect for spring!
My mom is an amazing gift-giver.
All throughout my life, she has been there with the most thoughtful gifts for every occasion—from birthdays to holidays to graduations to promotions and all sorts of “just because” random celebrations in between, she always shows up with at least “a little something.” And whether that be a batch of homemade Chex mix, those earrings that I mentioned I loved on my blog, a gift certificate for a massage on a busy month, some new kitchen towels she noticed I needed, or even just coming to town for a few days to help with house projects, it’s obvious that she really puts a lot of thought and a lot of heart into giving meaningful gifts. And without a doubt, her gifts have a way of making people—like her lucky daughter—feel incredibly special.
Of all the thoughtful gifts she has given me over the years, though, I’d say that my all-time favorite was something she gave me after graduation from high school before heading off to college: a homemade recipe box.
This was of course way back before anyone even knew what a food blog was. (And as she would tell you, back in the days when she never would have dreamed that her non-cooking, picky-eating daughter would one day become a food blogger!) But good recipes are meant to be passed down. And so one day, she lovingly sat down and hand-copied recipe after recipe after recipe onto plain little notecards, and then popped them in a cute little wooden box to give me for graduation.
Fourteen years later, it’s still one of my favorite things in my kitchen. Granted, the box is now chipped and splattered after years of moving with me from kitchen to kitchen. The cards are splattered and marked up with notes and tweaks after years of re-making the recipes. And countless recipes have now made their way to my blog, so that Mom’s cooking can be shared with more of the world. But while I could easily pull up the recipe for her no-bake cookies online whenever I want to make a batch, I always find myself reaching for the old recipe box, just to see her handwriting and feel that little touch of love that she poured into that gift years ago.
As a food blogger who publishes recipes online for a living, I’ll be the first to say that I believe there will always be a place in life for good recipe boxes and cookbooks in the kitchen. There’s just something about being able to hold them in your hands and have them sitting on the counter while you cook that’s the best—especially when they’re handwritten.
So as a gift for a friend who’s getting ready to become a new mother herself around Mother’s Day this year, I thought I would nix the typical baby registry and give her a handwritten recipe book with some of my favorite recipes. I know that time is precious when you have a newborn around, and I’ve had plenty of new-mom friends over the years ask for my favorite quick and easy recipes when they’re suddenly thrown into this new rhythm of life. And I have plenty that I’m more than happy to share!
So just like my mom did, I jotted down some of my favorites, and then left some blank notecards for her to be able to include some of hers over the coming years as well. One of those recipes is a new favorite of mine that’s a delicious quick and easy “treat” for breakfast, a snack, or even a healthier dinner: this Chocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie.
Well, I use the word “green” loosely. There’s a generous handful of spinach hiding in there, but the peanut butter and cocoa powder give the smoothie a more classic brown hue. It’s easy to make, packed with protein, made with healthier ingredients, yet it tastes just like a peanut butter cup. I mean, can you ever go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter?!? I think not.
To make the smoothie, simply toss all of your ingredients together in a blender, and then pulse them until combined. Feel free to add in more honey if you think the smoothie needs to be sweeter, or extra ice if it needs to be thicker. But otherwise, this smoothie should come together in just minutes and be the perfect sweet treat to begin your day.
I highly recommend adding it to your next recipe book too. 😉
Enjoy!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Green Smoothie
Servings: 2
Prep time: 5 mins
Cook time: 0 mins
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen chopped banana (peeled)
- 1 cup tightly-packed fresh spinach
- 1 cup ice
- 1 cup milk (your choice — dairy milk, almond milk, etc.)
- 3 tablespoons peanut butter
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds (optional)
- 1-2 tablespoons honey (if needed)
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- (optional topping: mini semisweet chocolate chips)
Method:
Pulse all ingredients together in a blender until combined. Serve immediately, garnished with mini chocolate chips if you’d like. And, of course, everything’s better when shared so this recipe makes two.
Find the pictured recipe book (with matching recipe cards) in your local Hallmark Gold Crown Store. And make sure to come see us on Instagram today at @Think.Make.Share, where we’ll be giving one away!
Photos by Ali Ebright.
Your blog is awesome. Your recipes, your stories(I love them) and they way you express yourself is inspiring. Your style is clear and to the point and your pictures go beyond. I congratulate you and I am sure your Mom feels very proud. You are full of details and show us things that we think but do not write. Keep up with the good work and show us more recipes from your old recipe book.
Every time I see a new green smoothie recipe I decide I have to try it. Not sure why, but I do. I would add some chocolate protein powder to this one, just because I use smoothies for meals and do better with more protein. I think a recipe book for new moms is a great idea; it’s also a great idea for a wedding gift.
I love all of your recipes, Ali! But it seems like maybe this recipe is missing some liquid? I needed some almond milk to get it to blend in my Vitamix. And it was wonderful!
Not sure what I did wrong with this recipe. Is there a typo because it was so thick that my expensive ninja blender couldn’t makes it. I added about three-quarter cup of coconut milk and just found that the chocolate was too bitter so then added some Greek yogurt raspberries and the little extra honey.
Happened to come across this on Pinterest & pinned it to try later. So glad I found it! Creamy chocolatey goodness is how I’d described this yummy smoothie! Perfect for after my long Saturday morning run. I used my Nutribullet to whip this up & had no problems. Even had to make another one for the kids to enjoy! Thanks for this great recipe!!
I’ll try this tomorrow. Looks delish! The straws are very cool!
I am making this in the morning. I am also going to substitute avacado for the banana because I’m allergic to bananas
look great , will like to try
it iss
Just tried it, very good, chocolaty treat!
This made for a delish, filling breakfast. 🙂
I love peanut butter and chocolate! Instead of ice cubes you can throw frozen Greek yogurt cubes in there for more flavor. I always freeze my leftover Greek yogurt in an ice cube tray for smoothie magic. Creamy, protein filled, delish.
Do you know the calorie count on this recipe?
This was really good and very filling. I just added a bit more almond milk to mine. I agree with the gift idea, I stole my Mom’s beat up recipe binder before Mother’s day one time bought a nice recipe box, rewrote all her recipes for her and added a bunch of mine I knew she liked. She loved it.
OMG! This smoothie tasted like Reese’s peanut butter cup and it was so good! Thanks so much! Definitely will have this one again!
Hi there,
Do you know the calories per serving size?
Thanks,
Jenae
Hi Jenae! I’m sorry, we don’t have the calorie information for this recipe. —Kelly
I have been looking for tasty green smoothies for my wife and I. When I saw chocolate peanut butter green smoothie I was skeptical of the taste. This was awesome and it made the perfect amount for the both of us. Thank you for the recipe.