Frosty Dark Fudge Protein Smoothie (vegan, dairy-free, GF)

Frosty Dark Fudge Protein Smoothie (vegan, dairy-free, GF)

Do you start your morning with chocolate? And your afternoon, and your evening. Haha, I digress. Okay, let’s stick to morning for the morning.

So, in my house, having a slice of chocolate cake for breakfast is pretty common never done, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still have chocolate for breakfast.

How, you say? Well, obviously the answer is pictured above! A chocolate fudge smoothie bowl worthy of a Friday dessert after a dinner out on vacation, haha.

And the funny thing is, this dessert-breakfast is healthy! Full of protein, fiber and even a slew of minerals that are hard to fit into one meal. And adding chocolate especially is so useful because cacao delivers the often-missed magnesium, so important for your mood and later that night, for sleep.

The best part about this bowl though really is the frosty, ice-creamy texture. And I get this with my old milk-ice-cube trick. For this smoothie, I froze boxed organic unsweetened hemp milk. You can find it at Whole Foods or wherever you find organic plant milks probably.

Of course you can also make your own, and I have the recipe for you right here! Hemp milk is actually super easy to make as homemade plant milks go because you do not have to do any pre-soaking or straining, just blend and pour! So creamy and yummy!

Anyway, back to the frozen milk cubes. Yes, I used hemp but you have a choice. You can use whatever is in your refrigerator – almond milk, soy milk or even use a can of coconut milk shaken up before you pour into the ice cube trays. That last will increase the creamy texture SOO much…

The other frosty-making-element in this smoothie, is bananas! Ripe, chopped and frozen.

Now, if you don’t happen to like bananas, swap them for your favorite smoothie thickener. Perhaps peeled, frozen zucchini? If you try this option, use frozen full fat coconut milk (shake the can and pour into ice cube trays). You’ll need to do that to add the creaminess that bananas provide. Also, taste-test for sweetness since bananas also add sweetening.

I have to say thought bananas really put the frost in this texture, so try it if you can. There is no banana flavor in frozen bananas, at least not one I can detect. If you choose to let this smoothie thaw however, and drink later, there might be a bit of banana flavor, so be forewarned.

Once your freezer is armed with frozen milk cubes and bananas, you are ready to fly! Blend up the frozens first with a bit of non-frozen milk to allow the blender to deal directly with this hard task. Don’t blend too long though, high speed blenders tend to get warm and you don’t want to go melting this beauty.

Once you are ready to add in the remaining ingredients, I would add all except the maple syrup. You might find your bananas added enough sweetening. And of course you can use your favorite sweetener. I’ve also use coconut palm sugar in place of maple syrup in this recipe. I love coconut sugar because it has a lower glycemic index than traditional cane sugar, and carries a slew of minerals including iron, zinc, calcium and potassium.

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Frosty Dark Fudge Protein Smoothie (vegan, dairy-free, GF)

Makes about 2-3 cups

Ingredients

Chocolate Smoothie

• 12 frozen milk ice cubes (Use your favorite milk, freeze the night before. I used boxed organic hemp milk here)
• 4 ripe bananas chopped and frozen overnight
• 2 tbsp cacao powder
• 1/4 nut milk, not frozen
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp vanilla powder adds flavor

Optional for Smoothie

• 1 tsp maca powder adds energy
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts adds protein
• 2 tbsp nut butter melted and swirled into smoothie

Chocolate Sauce

• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1/2 cup coconut oil melted
• 2 tbsp maple syrup

Useful Equipment

• Covered ice cube trays

Instructions

Prep

1. Pour milk of your choice into ice cube trays and freeze overnight. The creamier your milk, the creamier the smoothie.

   Peel and chop ripe bananas and freeze overnight.

Make Smoothie

1. Add the ice cubes, bananas and milk first to the blender and blend until creamy. Add a touch more milk if you want to loosen the blades more.

2. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the maple syrup.

   Blend to combine but not enough to melt.
   

   Taste-test for sweetness at this point. Add the maple syrup or coconut sugar if you feel it needs it.
   

3. Pour in bowl, top with fruit and perhaps a swirl of nut butter and a few chocolate shards or cacao nibs, and eat immediately for the frosty effect.

   Or refrigerate but it will be more like a drink to sip later, since the frozen aspect will diminish in the refrigerator. Enjoy!