Green Chocolate Smoothie

Nutritious without skipping the deliciousness

I've been loving a green chocolate smoothie in the morning for almost a decade now. Through the years it's evolved, swapping out foods that aligned with fad diets, like 'fat-free' and 'low-fat' that were ultimately full of preservatives, and upgrading ingredients to be more whole and pure. This is my latest rendition (with credit going to my good friend Alex who made me a similar one a few years back). Let me tell you, it's a good one.

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Ingredients

• 1/2 ripe banana

• 2 large handfuls of kale or spinach

• approx. 1-1.5 cups of milk (I prefer oat)

• 1 scoop unflavored protein powder (I use Garden of Life)

• 1 tbsp of nut butter (I like cashew and sunflower seed)

• 1 tbsp cocoa

• 1/2 tbsp of ground flax

• 1 tsp maca powder

• 1 tbsp cocoa nibs

• 1 pitted date (optional)

• Ice

Optional:

• dash of cinnamon

• dash of cayenne

• chia seeds

Place all items in a blender and blend! Adjust the ice and liquids as needed for the desired consistency.

Tips

• I prefer to use frozen bananas. I let them sit out until they're really ripe and then break them into smaller pieces (thirds, halves, etc.) before freezing.

• I like to buy a bag of fresh greens and put it in the freezer. It prevents it from going bad and it keeps it's form better than the pre-frozen bags.

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I'm not to be overly precise when I make my smoothies. I go based on eye and taste at this point so use this recipe as a starting point and adjust where needed.