Cinnamon Bun Smoothie

I ♥ smoothies. You all know about my love affair with the original green monster smoothie...I make at least a couple of those monsters each week and I don't think I'll ever get sick of them! I've even started to eat them out of a bowl sometimes...green monster "soup" perhaps? :) I topped this bowl with some granola for an added crunch and sweetness.

In addition to the green monster, I've had fun experimenting with all other flavors of smoothies as well, but sadly, I have shared very few of these with you on the blog! I think it's about time I changed that. The only other one I think I've shared is the delightful Yum Yam Smoothie, that Jenn and I created together last fall. Delicious!

Sometimes I make up my own smoothie recipes (it's really hard to mess up a smoothie!), and other times I like to follow a recipe that some other creative person has developed. This cinnamon bun smoothie was created by The Happy Herbivore, and I just couldn't resist trying it. Cinnamon bun in smoothie form?! Yes, please.

Recipe, as adapted from The Happy Herbivore (makes 1 serving):

-1 banana, cold 

-1 cup milk (non-dairy if you'd like your smoothie to be vegan, I used regular skim milk)

-1/2 tsp. cinnamon

-1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

-1/2 tsp. maple syrup

-1 tsp. cinnamon bun flavored coffee creamer (this was a special Barbershop addition!)

Place all ingredients in a blender, and blend away! Then, ENJOY. :) 

A couple points of note for you... The banana I used was medium in size, and I left it in the freezer for about an hour or so before using it in my smoothie, so it was only slightly frozen. I think that if you didn't already have a cold banana, you could easily use one that's at room temp...but you may then need to add ice to your smoothie. Also, this is a rather sweet smoothie, but for my tastes, it was not too sweet. It really did have a noticeable cinnamon bun flavor! I will absolutely be making this smoothie again...and again...and probably again. ;-)

I had fun taking some pictures outside on my porch, as you can see here. I only wish I had some real, homemade, ooey gooey cinnamon buns to use as a backdrop in these pictures!!

Be back again soon. :)