Peanut Butter and Jelly Protein Shake

• Yield:1 serving
• Difficulty:Easy
• Time:10 minutes

It has finally been done: a peanut butter and jelly flavored protein shake that actually tastes like…peanut butter and jelly! Rejoice!! I have tried so many combinations and seen tons of recipes online that used the same combinations I tried and they were all decent. But, they all fell short of tasting like actual peanut butter and jelly. The answer to this dilemma was found in a most unlikely place: an art supply store.

Before you think I flew off my rocker, there are some pretty interesting baking sections in those places—to create food-art! The big chain art store I went to (Hint: it’s named after a man—the name starts with “M”) has a baking section stocked with all sorts of flavoring extracts. This extract tastes more like jelly than actually putting grapes in my protein shake (tried it); because grapes don’t taste like grape jelly at all. It’s the pectin, the citric acid, sugar, and all the other flavors you taste mixed with the grapes that gives jelly its flavor.

The baking extract comes in a tiny little glass jar just larger than a thimble and is measured by the dram (.125 oz.). They were only a couple of bucks for a two-pack! You can also find these online if you have no large art supply stores near you. To find them online, type “grape flavoring extract by the dram” into your Google search. They can also be found on Etsy, Amazon, EBay, etc.

There are only a few ingredients in this shake recipe that makes it easier than pie to make, because, well, it isn’t pie. Pie can be quite complicated to make, so I don’t know where that expression crept out of. Unless they are talking about eating pie…that’s easy!

Ingredients:

• 1 serving of EFX Sports Vanilla whey of any type: Isolate, Pure Whey, or Protein 6
• 2 tbsp. peanut butter powder (or natural regular peanut butter, but I’m cutting calories right now)
• 1 packet of stevia sweetener (optional—it supercharges the sweet taste naturally)
• ½ or 1/8th (1/16th) of a tsp. grape flavoring extract (it’s pretty strong!)
• ¾ cup cold water
• ¼ cup frozen blackberries
• Ice (optional—my brain freezes easily! To thicken it, I use ½ tsp. xanthan gum instead of ice)It’s a gluten free thickener available in the baking section of most supermarkets in single serve packets.
• 1 tbsp. chopped peanuts (which would available in the baking section of the supermarket that has nuts)

Directions:

Put everything in the blender, except the chopped peanuts, and blend! If you are like me and decide to use xanthan gum instead of ice, put the water in first and sprinkle the xanthan gum powder around on the surface of the water before you put in the other ingredients so it doesn’t get stuck to the sides of the blender. The frozen raspberries and cold water make it cold enough that it isn’t warm and gross, but not so cold your brain freezes inside of your skull. Garnish with the crushed peanuts and enjoy guilt-free PBJ! The only thing missing is the high glycemic generic white bread with a side order of GMOs! You won’t miss it, trust me.

Nutrition: