Friday, July 29, 2016

Banana & Chocolate Almond Power Smoothie


Banana & Chocolate Almond Power Smoothie

1 cup unsweetened chocolate almond milk
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon chia seed
1/2 frozen banana 
1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt
Optional: 1 to 2 teaspoons honey

Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Enjoy!

Serves 1

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I used to be able to find Silk brand Lite Soy Chocolate Milk at the grocery store.  It made a great smoothie if you blended 1 cup chocolate soy milk with with a frozen banana. I cannot seem to find this product so instead I tried Unsweetened Almond Breeze Almond milk this week.  It's only 40 calories per cup but the texture seems a bit thinner than the soy milk. I am wondering now too if the soy milk I used before was sweetened. Not wanting my chocolate almond milk to go to waste, I am experimenting with this product in smoothies. 

This smoothie gave me a burst of energy after the doggies and I went for a four mile hike first thing this morning. This smoothie had at least 6 grams of protein thanks to the yogurt and almond milk. 
Ground Flax and Chia Seeds both added a few more grams of protein and have many of other health benefits. 

I found a great article about flax here. https://draxe.com/10-flax-seed-benefits-nutrition-facts/

And I found a great article about chia seeds here. https://draxe.com/chia-seeds-benefits-side-effects/

In the past, I've enjoyed chia and flax in baked goods and granola. If you are looking for ways to add chia and flax to your diet, smoothies are a great place to start. I like how they both serve as thickeners in smoothies. 

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