Raw Banana Cacao Breakfast Smoothie
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Because I simply don’t have enough going on in my life right now…oh,wait… Because life is a bit crazy and I am a bit crazy, now seemed like the perfect time to add a little bit more crazy so I decided to give myself a new challenge: raw food for an entire week. For many of you this may not seem like a challenge. But me, I like my warm oatmeal and tofu sandwiches and when it comes to raw food preparation, my knowledge starts and ends with dessert.
And I can’t just eat desserts for a whole week…right? It was late in the day Friday when I decided to take on this challenge. Eager to find ways to detox after 9 months of pregnancy and 1 month postpartum, this seemed like the perfect way to ensure I was getting enough nutrition while ridding my body of all toxins. I spent the following hours scouring my favorite raw food blogs, writing out menu plan and grocery shopping lists, and cleaning out my pantry and chest freezer to find forgotten nuts/seeds/flours, etc. Around 10:30 pm I started wondering if even I was this crazy.
Most day I can hardly find time to prepare myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, let alone eat the thing. Perhaps thinking I could eat a week of new recipes with extensive food prep while blogging about it was a bit optimistic. I’m a lot more optimistic before the kids wake up. I haven’t given up on the challenge – just postponed it. In the meantime I am going to experiment with some freezable raw recipes (granola, breakfast cookies, crackers), stock up on nuts and seeds, and hopefully, be ready to go raw in a few weeks.
I also thought it wise to come up with some easy-to-make meals like this Banana Cacao Breakfast Smoothie. This smoothie can be made in minutes, is high in fiber, calcium, and protein, and will fill you up for hours. Plus a great excuse to get some chocolate with breakfast.
Banana Cacao Breakfast Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana, sliced
- 2 medjool dates, pitted
- 2 tbsp raw almond butter
- 2 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 cup raw almond milk
Instructions
- Toss all ingredients in a blender and mix on high until smooth.
Nina Dalchow says
One of my favorite breakfast smoothies!
I like to add 2 tbsp of oats to keep me full until lunchtime 🙂
Sarah Olson says
Can I substitute the almond milk for oat milk?
Sarah McMinn says
Sure!
John says
That was fantastic. Thank you.
Nichole says
The absolute best recipe I’ve found, and my favorite when I’m craving…. well, anything! Haha. I was a huge chocolate milkshake and ice cream fan, and this taste exactly like that and is so thick and creamy! And the best part is that it’s healthy ingredients! I have this bookmarked and literally send this recipe to everyone. Thanks for the recipe, and I will continue sharing it!
Sarah says
I’m so glad you liked it. Thanks for sharing it!
Jessica says
Could I made this advance and still drink it if its not been in a fridge?
I work 3:30pm till 8:00pm I was looking for a smoothie or protine shake I could have around 6pm but as I work in a swimming pool I don’t have a fridge to keep it in! an suggestions?
Thanks 🙂
Sarah says
I typically don’t like smoothies that have sat around for very long because the texture changes as the frozen fruit thaws. If you had an insulated travel mug that kept it cold, that may be the best option.
Daniel says
Epic recipe!!!
I swapped the almond butter with coconut butter, ridiculous.
Mymy says
Hi! This recipe is looking very great!! How much time do you keep bananas in the fridge to have frozen bananas that could be blended easily ? 🙂
Sarah says
I slice my bananas and them put them in the freezer. If you slice them thin enough, you should be able to just blend them straight from the freezer.
ashley says
Wow! This is delicious! !!! Just made and will make often, thank you!
Sarah says
Thank you! I’m glad you like it.
Jen says
Could I swap coconut milk for almond milk? I haven’t tried dates in a smoothie yet…I was surprised that I don’t need to take the pits out but going to try it!
Sarah says
Coconut milk would be fine (I’m assuming you mean the boxed non-dairy milk substitute and not canned). Also you definitely want to pit the dates, you’ll see that I say “pitted” in the ingredients. You might break your machine if you don’t pit your dates.
Jen says
I am so glad I mentioned the pit because even though it sounds silly, I’m new to this and thought pitted meant having the pit!!! Thank you!!! you saved my blender 😉
Grace says
This is so creamy and delicious! My new favourite smoothie. Thank you!
JasT says
Hi
Did you do the raw food week? I’m 6 weeks postpartum and looking to do something safe and healthy while breastfeeding. Let me know…
Sarah says
I’ve been waiting for someone to ask me to get me back on track with that! I haven’t done it yet. It’s been so hard to manage two kids as it is, I just have been eating pretty simply. I will definitely let you know when if happens.
Lyz says
Thanks again Sarah. I add spinach (or any green leafy thing) for an extra boost and have this smoothie at least three times a week! Sometimes I pre-soak raw cashews with the chia and dates for a creamy texture.
Sara says
That sounds like an excellent idea!! I must try it this way! I tried making it the way she has posted and I don’t like it
Zach says
Where’s the protein? It looks delicious but I’m only seeing fats and carbs. Not one of your ingredients has more protein than fat or carb… You can call it delicious and healthy but perhaps you should change the claim of high protein.
Sarah says
Hey Zach, thanks for asking. The drink has 15 grams of protein which breaks down like this:
almond butter 7
chia seeds 4
cacao powder 3
almond milk 1
You can add an extra tbsp of chia seeds for more protein without much added fat.
It is high in healthy fats and calories, but if seen as a meal, it makes a great and healthy start to the day.
Heather says
So simple to make- the addition of almond butter sounds so good, what a great intro to your “getting ready to go raw” week 🙂
marquis @realrawkitchen says
This was one of my FAVORITE recipes when I first went raw 🙂 it’s comforting, it’s filling, it’s chocolatey .. it’s everything you hope for in comfort food except for cooked. It worked fabulously for me as a transition food 🙂
Sarojini says
Mmmmmm- sounds a lot like one of my favourites… I love the idea of the almond butter; will try that one out. Sometimes a find a smoothie doesn’t fill me up for long enough, but I think this one would! Good luck with the raw detox when you do start- maybe it will also be easier when the weather warms up; that’s what I tell myself, anyway.
Lynn Chen says
All my favorites blended in a glass!
bklg says
eager to make this MCMINN!
KC says
How much Cacao did you use?
Sarah says
2 tbsp, just fixed the post! Thanks.
Linda says
Cacao missing?
Sarah says
oops…fixed! Thanks.