Healthy chocolate breakfast milkshake! (dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free smoothie)

Healthy chocolate breakfast milkshake! (dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free smoothie)

HEALTHY CHOCOLATE BREAKFAST MILKSHAKE

My favorite healthy, easy-to-make, plant-based chocolate breakfast smoothie

It almost feels wrong to label this recipe as a smoothie because it actually tastes like chocolate pudding.. so I call this a healthy breakfast milkshake! I’ve had this “smoothie” for breakfast and for dessert after dinner. It’s balanced with whole carbs, protein and healthy fats. It’s also filling and totally moreish (as my mom always says). If you love chocolate, you have to try this recipe!

This smoothie recipe actually keeps quite well and is great for meal prep. Sometimes I make a double portion and save half of it in the fridge in an airtight container so that I can have it for breakfast (or dessert) the next day!

This recipe is dairy-free, vegan and gluten-free.

Calories: roughly 410, Prep time: 5 min, Total time: 5 min, Serves: 1


This recipe is from my latest ebook “Just Breakfast” containing 50+ delicious, healthy, easy-t0-make breakfast recipes.



HOW TO MAKE IT

Ingredients:
-1 cup unsweetened coconut *yogurt
-3 fresh *Medjool dates
-1 tablespoon *almond butter
-2 teaspoons cocoa powder
-
1/8 to 1/4 cup water (or as needed)
-ice to taste
-1 teaspoon vanilla extract (optional)
-Sprinkle of cinnamon (optional)

Instructions:
1. Pit the dates and add them to to a blender with the yogurt, almond butter, cocoa powder, cinnamon, vanilla (optional) and water
2. Blend until smooth
3. Add ice to taste and blend again
4. Serve chilled and enjoy!

NOTES

*MEDJOOL DATES: I like to use fresh Medjool dates in this recipe (they are the soft squishy dates), however, you can use any type of date you prefer. For reference, 2 pitted Medjool dates provide roughly 132 calories.
*ALMOND BUTTER: Almond butter makes the smoothie extra creamy and delicious – and adds protein and healthy fats. You can use any nut butter you prefer, such as cashew or hazelnut butter. Peanut butter can also be used but keep in mind it’ll give the recipe a strong peanut flavor.
*YOGURT: You can use any type of yogurt that you prefer but keep in mind that calorie content varies greatly between type (coconut, soy, dairy, etc.) and brand. The calorie content in this recipe is based on an unsweetened coconut yogurt which is about 105 calories per cup. If the yogurt you’re using has a higher calorie content and you want to keep the calorie value the same as this recipe, you could simply use less, based on the nutrition facts of that particular product. For a dairy-free option, use a dairy- free yogurt (coconut, soy, etc.)


This recipe is from my latest ebook “Just Breakfast” containing 50+ delicious, healthy, easy-t0-make breakfast recipes.




Recipe and food styling by Liezl Jayne Strydom, Photos by Rob Williams for liezljayne.com