Here in New York, the nights have been getting a little crisper. I even busted out my favorite furry slippers this week. The kids are all officially back in school. Some of the trees are already even getting small spots of color. Basically, it really feels like fall. And when I think fall, I think apples!

We’re going apple picking with friends next weekend, which means I’m in full on apple recipe collecting mode. I want all the apples and all the delicious recipes that go along with them.

I also want to try and make sure that at least a few of the recipes I use attempt to be a bit healthier. I don’t want to do all butter all the time. I mean I do, but I’d rather not have to invest in a whole new wardrobe when my butt explodes from all the indulging.

At this point it should be pretty clear that I’m obsessed with green smoothies, right? I drink one for breakfast just about every morning and sometimes have them as snacks. Like most people, I was a little skeptical about them at first and was both thrilled and pleasantly surprised when I finally cracked and tried one.

And I’m not the only one who is crazy about these things. In fact, one of my most popular posts was one on smoothie recipes. Since it was posted, I’ve had readers (strangers, friends, family, just about anyone) contact me to ask me to share some more.

I experimented a little and am totally excited about what I came up with…

Lately I’ve been trying desperately to curb my massive sweet tooth. I’m trying to cut back on my bad habits (hey chocolate!) and pump more fruits and veggies into my diet. Still, there’s no way I can cut out sweets completely. I would totally lose it and go on a binge reminiscent of that scene in Chocolat where the Comte de Reynaud ends up curled up in the front window of the chocolate shop with his face covered in chocolatey evidence (if you haven’t seen this movie, you must. Gypsy Johnny Depp. Chocolate. French village. Need I say more?!).

Instead, I’m trying to find sinfully delicious options that trick me into thinking I’m having a terrible treat when really, they’re pretty healthy.

Enter the banana-cocoa-peanut butter smoothie my friend Janine told me about. Pinterest is full of similar ideas (I also found this one that I want to try there). What I liked about the one Janine told me about was the addition of peanut butter. If you ask me, chocolate + peanut butter = heaven.

I played around with the recipe a bit and have finally gotten it down pretty well. Here’s what you do:

• 1 frozen banana (when mine start to turn black I peel them, put them into ziplock bags and throw them in the freezer for smoothies)
• 3/4 cup of almond milk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
• 1/3 cup of peanut butter (I use Smucker’s Natural. It’s delicious)

Throw it all in the blender (I recommend putting the milk in before the cocoa or peanut butter to make sure everything mixes nicely) until smooth. You can either drink it immediately OR put it in the freezer for a few hours. I promise you it’s worth the wait.

If you want it a little soft and creamy (think chocolate peanut butter ice cream. Yuuuuuum!) put it in for 3 or 4 hours. If you want to try it as more of an Italian ice, leave it in overnight. If you decide it’s too hard for you, just let it sit out a bit. Honestly, you can’t go wrong. Any way that you eat this is ridiculously tasty.

Do you have any go-to recipes that trick you into thinking they’re sinfully delicious? Please share!!!