Healthy Chocolate Smoothie

Get your chocolate fix in smoothie form! Velvety smooth, rich & chocolatey & yet full of good for you ingredients, this healthy chocolate smoothie will get your day started the right way.

If you are anything like me, after a period of extra indulgent eating it can be hard to get back on track. Easter is one of those times. After eating one (or a few) too many chocolate eggs or bars the cravings can kick in once usual routine commences, and as hard as you try it’s easy for willpower to falter.

It doesn’t have to be the week following Easter for me to get the urge to stuff my face with chocolate. It happens most days. I usually fight the urge but for those times when I can’t, this Healthy Chocolate Smoothie is my saviour.

Packed full of healthy ingredients, it makes a wonderful breakfast, snack or meal replacement when you are on the go and don’t have time for anything else. I promise that if you serve this up to your children before or after school you will see their little eyes light up! The same goes for adults too. Not many people can resist a chocolatey treat!

This Healthy Chocolate Smoothie is rich, thick and velvety thanks to banana and the secret ingredient….Sweet potato! The combination of the two make this smoothie extra creamy and delicious and because of their natural sweetness you can often get away without adding any additional sweetener at all.

This smoothie is a great way to use up leftover cooked sweet potato. I try to always cook extra so that I have some leftover in the fridge. Firstly so I can make this smoothie at the drop of a hat when the chocolate cravings hit, and secondly because it’s handy for so may other things. I eat a lot of rice or noodle bowls and love a bit of diced sweet potato with them. It’s great to make a super quick soup with and I also love it sliced thinly in a sandwich with a spread of hummus and piles of salad or sprouts. My dog also loves it as a treat.

Because of the banana and the sweet potato in this Healthy Chocolate Smoothie it is really filling and has great staying power. It keeps me full for hours and satisfies my sweet tooth for the entire day (most of the time)!

This Healthy Chocolate Smoothie is wonderful as it is but I love adding a scattering of raw cacao nibs when serving. Cacao nibs are pure cacao beans that come straight out of the tropical cacao fruit. They give a real, deep, bitter, chocolate hit and a fabulous crunch.  They are also a rich source of antioxidants, vitamins, minerals and fiber. If you do top your smoothie with them please bear in mine that they can and will block your straw if you don’t chop them a little more finely. I discovered the hard way!

This Healthy Chocolate Smoothie is also thick enough to serve as a smoothie bowl. You can then top it with whatever takes your fancy and eat with a spoon. Sliced banana and berries would make wonderful toppings,  as would nuts and seeds or granola.

If you love this smoothie please hit the stars at the beginning of the recipe to rate it. It would be great if you could also leave a comment below. Feel free to share your pictures on Instagram too. I love to see them! Tag them with #avirtualvegan so I don’t miss them.

If you love smoothies then be sure to check out my Going Green Smoothie with Rawnola and my Cranberry, Walnut & Apple Smoothie (cranberries aren’t just for Thanksgiving and Christmas. You can usually find them with the frozen fruit at the grocery store).

Healthy Chocolate Smoothie

Get your chocolate fix in smoothie form! Velvety smooth, rich & chocolatey but full of good for you ingredients, this healthy chocolate smoothie will get your day started the right way.

5 from 1 vote

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Course: Breakfast, Smoothie

Cuisine: gluten-free, vegan

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Total time: 5 minutes

Makes: 1 large smoothie

Calories: 314kcal

Author: Melanie McDonald

Ingredients

• 240mls | 1 cup non-dairy milk (I used my homemade cashew milk )
• 1 ripe banana (fresh or frozen)
• 100g | 1/2 cup cooked sweet potato
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 1 medjool date (optional - see recipe note)
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional but adds some extra nutrition)
• 5 ice cubes , if using a fresh banana , none if your banana is frozen

Instructions

• Add all ingredients except maple syrup or 1 date to a blender.
• Blend until velvety and smooth. This takes 1 minute on the smoothie setting with my Blendtec . If your blender isn't a high powered one it will probably take a little longer.
• Taste a little bit to check sweetness and add either some maple syrup or a medjool date if necessary. Blend again to incorporate.
• Serve immediately.

Notes

Maple syrup or a medjool date are optional ingredients. If your banana is very ripe it will probably add enough sweetness on its own.

I served my healthy chocolate smoothie with a sprinkling of cacao nibs for extra texture and nutrition.

Nutrition

Serving: 1smoothie | Calories: 314kcal | Carbohydrates: 68g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 5g | Sodium: 200mg | Potassium: 1148mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 19% | Vitamin C: 72% | Calcium: 54% | Iron: 33%

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