Eating healthier doesn’t mean we need to give up snacks and treats. In fact, I wholeheartedly encourage healthier substitutes because otherwise you’ll feel deprived—which is typically what diets do—and no one wants to feel left out or like they “can’t have” something. When this happens, our natural tendency is to rebel.
Therefore, I’ve come up with ways to still eat chocolate and satisfy cravings using better ingredients.
Today I’ll share with you one of my all-time favorite smoothie recipes and where you can get a healthy chocolate “milkshake” recipe that is AMAZING!
So, who else loves the combination of peanut peanut and chocolate?
When I gave up processed sugary chocolate, I searched high and low for a healthy chocolate substitute and discovered that cacao powder in a smoothie, along with other ingredients, would do the trick.
For clarification, the chocolate is CACAO powder, not COCOA powder.
To simplify the production of making a smoothie, I use a Magic Bullet. You can, however, use a blender, but the Magic Bullet helps keep it simple because you make a smoothie and can drink it from the same cup. Less clean up!
I found a great peanut butter option at Trader Joe’s that contains Flax & Chia seeds, so you get omega-3s too! But you can use Almond Butter or other types of natural peanut butter, which doesn’t include brands like Jiffy and Skippy, not even the ones labeled “natural”!
Here are the ingredients:
-
- 1 banana
-
- 1 1/2 cups of Coconut Water (can substitute Water, Coconut Milk or Almond Milk)
-
- 2 tablespoons of Peanut Butter
- 1 tablespoon of cacao powder
Use less Coconut Water and add a handful of ice cubes if you like a cold, icy-like drink!
Put all ingredients in a Magic Bullet cup or blender and blend on high for 45 seconds to a minute.
Drink and enjoy!
If you use regular peanut butter, you can also add chia seeds, flax seeds, camu powder, or a teaspoon of honey. Experiment with the tastes and textures to find exactly what precise combinations work for you. As with diets, not everyONE works for everyBODY.
Also, you can find some more smoothie and healthy recipes on my Fitness & Nutrition board on Pinterest. And for more healthy, nutritious filled chocolate recipes, get The Earth Diet recipe book!
Here’s a pic of the Chocolate Shake on page 87.
Stacey Crew is “The Kitchen Health Coach” based in Charleston, South Carolina. She is a Certified Wellness Coach & published Author, and owner of Stacey Crew Wellness. She helps individuals achieve their health goals through a 4-prong approach of understanding the individual’s wellness needs, educating on specific topics, empowering the individual to make informed decisions, and providing accountability—all in a supportive environment. Stacey is an Amazon best-selling author of The Organized Mom: Simplify Life for You & Baby One Step at a Time and author of the soon-to-be-released Nourish You! Transform You & Your Kitchen for Healthier Eating.
Connect with Stacey @staceycrew on Facebook and Twitter and @staceycrewwellness on Instagram
Stacey Crew developed 7 Strategies to help you save your sanity by decluttering your kitchen.
CLICK the button below and we will send you a copy of the free 7 Kitchen Decluttering Strategies Guide to help you create an organized & healthy kitchen in just a few easy steps.