Last night we experienced a string of thunderstorms that brought much needed rain, loud, booming thunder, and lightning that jumped from cloud to cloud. Living in Japan, we didn't experience too many thunderstorms. We got plenty of rain, but real thunderstorms didn't happen often. Now that we live in Denver, I still find myself missing those classic sounds of a good summer storm. There is just nothing like it. It's like red lipstick. Or peanut butter and banana. It never gets old.

I may not be able to create thunderstorms whenever I get a craving for one, but I can make a peanut butter and banana smoothie any time. No, it isn't quite as exciting as a thunderstorm, but it's the best I can do.

Riley loves these smoothies almost as much as his Kale & Pineapple smoothies. This is good news because some days it seems like Riley is on a hunger strike. He won't eat anything and then I start to feel like a bad mom because the only thing that has gone into his stomach is milk and Cheerios. On those days, smoothies are a life saver. I love this one because it has lots of protein, which is important for little growing bodies like his. Plus, we almost always have all the ingredients available. Not always the case with other smoothie concoctions.

How can you look at this face and not know that he loves every bit of this peanut butter banana goodness?

And then there are days when I don't have the time or energy to make a proper meal for myself. On those days, mommy gets the smoothies too.

I didn't add honey or any additional sweeteners to my recipe here because I don't feel like it is necessary. I try to stay away from adding sugar to things unless it makes or breaks the recipe. However, if you want to you can add honey.