Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothies

I admit that when I was working in an office, I didn't always eat breakfast. As a night person who regularly waits until 10 or 11PM to get started on some projects, mornings have never been my favorite. I have no problem staying up all night if I'm feeling a burst of creative productivity, but that usually means that my mornings then become a sleepy rush of trying to get showered, dressed, packed, and out the door in time to catch the train. Breakfast rarely happened.

Now that I make my own schedule, life is a lot better. The two to three hours that I previously used to lose on waking up, getting ready, commuting, dealing with general office morning nonsense, are now pared down to the essentials. I wake up easily, excited about the day and the projects ahead.

And yet, despite the ease, I noticed that breakfast still hasn't made it into the routine. I'm almost too excited to eat in mornings--too eager to start writing, researching, planning. It's an amazing feeling knowing that I'm passionate about everything I have to do, but even so I have to force myself to slow down a bit. Last week I realized that I'd often hit 2pm without eating at all.  Awful, right? Strange to sit here reading and writing about food, when I haven't even consumed anything yet.

So I started making myself juices and smoothies--nothing too fancy, just bananas, almond milk, unsweetened peanut butter, and cocoa. A lot of cocoa. A touch of honey. The combination is thick, filling, and comforting, and it gives me the energy I need to stay focused and get through the morning.

This batch makes enough for a few mornings (or to share!).

Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothies
Serves 4

Ingredients
2 bananas, peeled (I like to peel my bananas in advance and freeze them to make a cold and frothy drink)
4 cups unsweetened almond milk (you can also use regular whole milk or rice milk)
1/3 cup natural peanut butter (unsweetened)
1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons honey
1 pinch celtic sea salt (optional)

Directions
Combine all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Serve immediately or store in an air-tight glass jar in the fridge for up to 5 days (you may need to whisk quickly with a fork before pouring if storing in the fridge).