it was THAT kind of Monday morning

Do you ever wake up in the morning and feel like you only slept for an hour? I did this morning. I don't know why, but I tossed and turned last night until almost 2 am. That's even after a 5-6 mile walk and about an hour of yoga. I even had my relaxing tea ritual after dinner. As far as I know, lemon verbena tea (which I had last night - a whole teapot) contains no caffeine. So this morning, I stumbled out of bed and needed a quick energizer.

Here's my solution to hurried mornings...

Banana-Peanut Butter Smoothie

1 ripe banana, peeled and frozen
1-2 tablespoons natural peanut butter*
locally sourced raw honey**, to taste
a dash of ground cinnamon
a pinch of ground cloves
vanilla soy milk

Process the above ingredients in a blender until smooth. Smile in enjoyment. To quote this friend, it's "delicious yummy-ness."

The carbs-and-protein combination of this smoothie keeps me going through busy mornings at work and all the way till a late lunch. The cinnamon is great for keeping your blood sugar levels stable as well.

*For me it HAS to be Santa Cruz organic, creamy, light roasted peanut butter. I tried this smoothie with the "regular" roast (or I guess a darker roast?) of peanut butter and I didn't like it as much because the dark roast overpowered the subtleties of the honey and cloves. Ok, I know I sound strange, complicating the matter. It's all a matter of preference. But YES I obviously love peanut butter and I claim to be a PB connoisseur. :)
**I like the spring variety of honey, which tastes lighter than the summer varieties. YES I obviously like honey. Especially if it's from Bee Haven, one of the vendors at Findlay Market.