The Banana Shake

I've been making this shake for over 40 years. I forget its origins or why I started making it, but it has changed little from its first blending in the mid 1980's.

Here are the things you'll need. The Wheat Germ is for gluten eaters obviously, and is optional.

Flexible Ingredient Quantities

The quantities vary according to your taste and the amount you're making. Roughly the ingredient quantities are:

• 2 small bananas or 1 large banana
• 1/2 c powdered milk. (I like the European Nido milk, available from Amazon)
• 1/4 to 1/2 c peanut butter according to taste
• 1/4 to 1/2 c wheat germ (optional)
• 2 cups crushed ice filled halfway (to the 1 cup line) with cold water*
• A spatula to scoop out the peanut butter and scrape the blender, and maybe a small plate to put it on to reduce the mess

* Notice the water quantity in the image is wrong at 1 cup crushed ice with water. I would add more ice and water because you don't want it too thick.

Order of Ingredients in the Blender Affects the Blend

You want the ingredients to blend up without a lot of coaxing and mixing with your trusty spatula. I would start with the banana(s), then add the powdered milk, the water/ice mixture, wheat germ (if using) and finally the peanut butter.

Okay, we're ready to blend. Notice the spatula at the ready as you'll want to scrape the inside of the blender to make sure all ingredients are blended. No need to blend a long time, just enough to make your shake.

Yes, we have a small bit of cleaning to do, but hopefully you'll find the cleanup worth it.