Raise your hand if you love chocolate milkshakes. Okay, hands down. Now raise your hand if you love chocolate milkshakes but avoid making them because they are usually unhealthy? That’s me, friends, but I’ve come up with a recipe for banana chocolate milkshakes that are every bit as creamy, sweet, decadent and satisfying to sip on as traditional chocolate milk shake sugar bombs. Plus, my banana chocolate milkshakes are dairy free and no-sugar-added too!
My kids think these banana chocolate milkshakes are a big treat when I make them, and trust me, they’ve had the sugar/fat laden traditional milkshakes before! See, kids adapt to what they get used to, so if “treats” are always packaged candy, or ice cream, or chocolate chip cookies, well, then that’s what they will think of as a treat. If, on the other hand, you refer to these Banana Chocolate Milkshakes as a “treat” (even though they are loaded with good stuff) every time you make them, then, in time, they will think of these as a “treat” and will be none the wiser that you’re really conning them into eating some super healthy foods they may not normally eat.
Okay, tangent over”¦back to the chocolate milkshakes. If you’ve checked out some of my other recipes, you may have noticed that I love using dates to sweeten foods. Dates are a sweet fruit, but the thing I love most is that the actual flavor of dates pairs well with almost anything. Plus, they add a good dose of fiber. I also add banana to these shakes because, for one, they add to the sweetness and the creamy texture, and secondly, banana and chocolate is just a good combo.
Rounding out the super short list of ingredients are cocoa powder (which is unsweetened), almond butter (which adds some good protein as well as healthy fat), avocado (yep, more healthy fat, and no one will know this is in the milkshakes unless they watch you make them!), and my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk.
Okay, I want to talk numbers really quickly ““ it’s something us dietitians like to do, and I hope you find the info helpful. So, I did a lightening quick online search of the nutrition numbers for chocolate milkshakes that you can order at some major chain restaurants and found the following numbers (for a medium chocolate milkshake): 500 calories (wow-ZA!), 91 g carb, 16 g fat (10 grams of which are saturated fat), and a whopping (insert sarcasm) 1 g fiber. Now, look down at my recipe and see the numbers ““ quite different, huh? My version of a chocolate milkshake has almost half as many calories, half the carbs, and 9 times as much fiber ““ yes 9 times! The number I love looking at most is the fat ““ while it may look like my version is about the same as the restaurant version (with only 5 grams less total fat), my version has only 1.5 g of saturated fat (which is considered a more unhealthy fat) and has 6 grams of monounsaturated fat, which is super healthy for your heart and brain.
Okay, enough of the numbers ““ just go make the milkshakes! I think you’ll really like them! And, please let me know what you think by dropping a quick comment.
By the way, if you love the chocolate and peanut butter combination, you can turn this recipe into a chocolate peanut butter milkshake by using natural creamy peanut butter instead of the almond butter. Yum!
How-To Photos:
I almost always have these ingredients on hand so it’s easy to whip together this healthy treat.
I love Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa powder. It’s so rich and flavorful!
Soaking the dates makes them softer so they blend smoothly.
Combine everything in the blender.
Blend until well combined and smooth. Then add ice cubes and blend a bit longer.
Banana Chocolate Milkshakes
2016-03-23 12:31:12
These Banana Chocolate Milkshakes are every bit as satisfying, decadent, creamy, and delicious as traditional sugar and fat-laden chocolate milkshakes, without all the unhealthy fat and sugar.
Prep Time
10 min
Total Time
20 min
Ingredients
- 7 whole pitted unsweetened dates
- 2/3 cup boiling water
- 1 medium ripe banana
- 1 medium avocado, halved pitted and peeled
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons almond butter or natural creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk or your favorite purchased almond milk
- 1 cup small ice cubes
Instructions
- In a 1-cup glass measuring cup combine dates and boiling water. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. In a blender combine the undrained soaked dates, the banana, avocado, cocoa powder, and almond butter. Pour in almond milk. Cover and blend until smooth, scraping sides of blender as needed. Add ice cubes. Cover and blend until smooth.
Yield
- about 4 cups (4 servings)
Nutrition Info (per serving)
- 270 cals, 5 g pro, 46 g carb, 11 g fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1.5 g sat fat, 9 g fiber, 50 mg sodium
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