Sometimes, my chocolate cravings turn me into a bit of an animal, stuffing chocolate covered almonds and homemade haystacks into my face like I haven’t eaten in days. Okay, I exaggerate, but still; as you can probably imagine, my serial chocolate snacking never ends well for me or my stomach.

So I’ve been coming up with new, healthier strategies to satisfy my chocolate quotas. This low-calorie “shake” is definitely a winner, as it gets me my caffeine and chocolate fixes at the same time, using fruit as a base. I also incorporated my new favorite teavana tea, My Morning Mate, in place of coffee, as the latter tends to give me the jitters. Any black tea or coffee would work wonderfully, though! Also, if you’re not into caffeine, you can use your favorite kind of milk as the liquid, or even just water.

Ingredients

1 banana, sliced and frozen

About 2 tbs shredded coconut – sweetened or unsweetened

1/2-3/4 cup black tea or coffee

Soy, coconut, or almond milk to thin it out if you need to

2-3 ice cubes

2-3 tbs cocoa powder

Handful of walnuts (optional)

Chocolate or vanilla flavored protein powder (optional)

Sweetener if desired (I found it unnecessary)

Directions

1. Slice bananas into a bowl and store in freezer until frozen.

2. Combine ingredients in a blender, blend until smooth. Add more liquid (milk or tea/coffee) or solids (walnuts, cocoa powded, banana, coconut) until it is at your desired consistency.

3. Pour into a glass or jar, garnish with coconut or banana slices, and enjoy!

Thanks for reading,

Michelle