This chocolate smoothie variation was made with raw almonds (soaked overnight).
Delicious Raw Chocolate Smoothie Recipe. . .
We eat some foods for their amazing taste. Others we might force down purely for the nutritional value. But this one is different…if you learn how to make a raw chocolate smoothie, you’ve found something that your body NEEDS and your taste buds will LOVE!
The following chocolate smoothie recipe is just one of many ways to enjoy chocolate in its purest, most natural form…raw organic cacao. Cacao is loaded with antioxidants, some say more than any other food source, and can therefore help you look and feel your best.
The QUICK version:
Combine the following in a blender & mix til creamy smooth:
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 to 1 whole ripe avocado
- 3 dates (remove the pit, or suffer the consequences)
- 2 tablespoons raw cacao powder (not just regular chocolate!)
- 1 cup cold water, & maybe a couple ice cubes
That’s it…You’ve made your first delicious chocolate smoothie!
Now for the FULL version. If you can be bothered, this really bumps it up a notch:
- 1 frozen banana (peel it before freezing)
- Add 1 ripe avocado
- 3 raw dates (pits removed)
- 1-2 tablespoonfuls of raw flax seed oil (keep chilled, in a dark bottle that protects it from sunlight)
- 1 to 1.5 cups cold water (raw coconut water or almond milk will make it even better!)
- 2 rounded tablespoons raw organic cacao powder
- Add a small handful of raw spinach (Don’t worry, you won’t taste it. Skip it if you’re skeptical!)
- 3-4 ice cubes (especially if your banana wasn’t frozen)
- Then blend until reasonably creamy smooth (about a minute or so in an average blender).
This recipe makes one massive portion or two small-medium servings…in the ballpark of 18-24 ounces total. Ideally you will consume this on its own, with no toast, coffee, or any other food. Think of it as an entire meal, best consumed for breakfast or lunch on an otherwise empty stomach.
Here’s a little video of how to make this raw chocolate smoothie. (Sorry for the poor resolution & mediocre audio…we just grabbed a handheld video camera & started shooting without knowing anything about video quality!! But it’s perfectly watchable & the content is good!!)
Although this tastes a lot like a sinful dessert, you won’t have to wear as much guilt as you might think…
Health Benefits of this Raw Chocolate Smoothie Recipe:
A sustained energy kick and a serious boost to your immune system.
RAW CACAO…
One of the most antioxidant-rich foods you can find, including Vitamin C, oligomeric procynanidins, resveratrol, and the polyphenols catechin and epicatechin, believed to prevent disease and improve longevity.
Studies show that polyphenols disrupt the communication between cancer cells, helping prevent the spread of cancer. (see article in Science Daily)
The highest whole food source of magnesium. Magnesium helps the muscles relax, including the heart and cardiovascular system. A surprisingly high number of people are deficient in this mineral.
Also high in phenethylamine (PEA is the feel good neurotransmitter responsible for the feeling of love!), Omega 6 fatty acids, and the amino acid tryptophan.
High levels of tryptophan in the blood signal the brain to make serotonin, which has many beneficial consequences on mood such as promoting happiness, relaxation and the ability to get a good night’s sleep.
Cacao assists with weight loss because it is a natural appetite suppressant and contains chromium. Chromium is an essential mineral (your body can’t produce it on it’s own) that helps balance blood sugar and is used in the metabolism and storage of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates by the body.
The OTHER INGREDIENTS…
Sustained energy. The avocado, oil, bananas, & spinach offer vitamins, minerals, and fiber to slow the rate at which the natural sugar is absorbed into the bloodstream. The fiber is also good for the intestines, colon, and producing healthy bowel movements.
Spinach is high in vitamins and minerals and is also concentrated in health-promoting phytonutrients such as carotenoids (beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin) and flavonoids for more protection against many types of disease. Spinach can also protect against unwanted inflammation in the lining of the stomach.
Dates are sweet, but are a surprisingly low GI (glycemic index) food. And the fiber in dates is primarily insoluble fiber, which binds to fat and cholesterol and carries it out of the body, helping prevent obesity and other health problems.
The avocado helps you feel full, so even though it has a couple hundred calories, it is excellent fuel and will keep you satisfied a lot longer than a smoothie without avocado. The calories and fat here are high quality and beneficial for your body.
The avocado and flaxseed oil are great for your skin, hair, and joints, among other things.
Packed with amino acids, minerals, crucial omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, electrolytes, and natural sugar for energy, this chocolate smoothie is a great pre-or-post-workout enhancer. Consume up to half at least 30 minutes before a workout, the rest right after the workout.
How does all that sound? Get all the ingredients and give it a try. Like countless others looking to increase their energy levels and antioxidant intake, you may just find your weakness for chocolate turns out to be your biggest strength. It certainly could be the most pleasurable.
Have some other ways to enjoy cacao? Let us know!
Some Helpful Smoothie Tips:
Substitute freely! The recipe above is not an exact science, so have fun with it. Make some tweaks here and there. For example…
- Try adding a couple drops of real vanilla or stevia for more sweetness. Or coconut flesh. Or raw almonds (that have been soaked for at least 12 hrs then rinsed).
- Like chocolate with fruit? Add some strawberries or blueberries into the mix. Or dip them in the smoothie afterwards.
- If you’re not a huge fan of dark chocolate, go easy on the cacao.
- Young Thai coconuts (the white ones) work great, but they are a lot of work to cut open. Many markets now stock pure coconut juice (also called coconut water). Just make sure it contains no added ingredients. It is likely flash pasteurized, so it’s not as ideal as the fresh juice straight from the coconut. One of the keys to this meal is that all the ingredients are raw and therefore more potent. Fresh organic ingredients are best when available.
- If water is used instead of coconut water, it won’t be as sweet, so be sure to add the dates, honey, or extra banana for some healthy sweetness.
- Some people might not want or can’t have this much natural sugar (dates, bananas, coconut juice). Any of these ingredients can be substituted (water for coconut juice, more avocado & less banana, no dates, etc), but be aware the cacao on its own is bitter. That’s why the chocolate bar you buy at the store is loaded with sugar. Just bear in mind this smoothie is a massive improvement over store-purchased chocolate which is cooked (crippling the health benefits of the cacao) and mixed with heaps of refined sugar, which drives the cells in your body crazy.
Make sure it blends well. The easiest way is to shake the blender as you go. Or stop the blender, stir up the mix with a spoon & start again. Always use caution…best advised to unplug the machine while you mix it with a spoon. As smoothies become a bigger part of your diet, consider getting a high speed blender. These last longer and blend the food better, opening up all kinds of creative options for more variety in what you eat.
Don’t gulp it down too fast. Each drink/bite needs to mix with your saliva for best digestion. But also try to consume it within an hour or two, or store it in a sealed drink container in the fridge & have it for breakfast tomorrow. It is best fresh, but it’ll keep for about 3 days if chilled in a sealed container. Be careful not to let it sit at room temperature for too long.
Have it earlier in the day, rather than right before bed as it gives most people a lot of energy.
A Word About Calories and Fat
Worried about the calories or fat? Remember, this is a meal. Loaded up with a whole avocado and even the flaxseed oil (option 2 above), this smoothie has around 700 calories. If your goal is 2,000 calories a day, then 700 calories for a meal is about right. And with no oil and half an avocado, that number drops to about 450 calories. So much for a calorie problem. And fat? It has about 15g fat unloaded and 42 grams with the oil & whole avo. So if 35% of your calories can come from good fat, that means you’d want about 78g a day (see Mayo Clinic article on calculating fat grams). This just means your other two meals should have slightly less fat.
Also consider this….lots of people eat higher than 2,000 calorie diets. A grown man who works out might eat twice that much. So proportionally these numbers for the chocolate smoothie become less of a concern.
And secondly, this is healthy fat. A blanket statement like “more than 50 grams of fat a day is bad” is silly. A person who gets 90 grams of fat a day based on raw fruits/veggies/seeds/nuts is likely going to be MUCH healthier than person B who gets less than 50 grams fat if most of it is trans fats and saturated fats from unnatural sources. Person A is getting mostly monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats, which your body handles very well and even needs.
Be sure to have fun with this and keep tweaking the chocolate smoothie recipe until it puts a smile on your face!