Happy Valentine’s Day!
Ah, the day of love (not that every day shouldn’t be a day of love…), but today, is especially a day to squeeze your better half, babies, or fur babies, extra tight – or really whoever in your life makes your heart warm.
It also seems to be a special day that brings around lots of sweets, treats, chocolate, goodies, desserts, and all things indulgent. While I’m definitely not against this… just see my last post, I do know that over-doing it in all those sugary things can leave you feeling less than stellar.
I actually feel like I get sugar hangovers when I over-indulnge in the refined stuff. Can you relate??
Honestly, I wake up the next day dry-mouthed, sluggish, nauseous, and with a headache when I’ve had more than my share of sugar the day before. I don’t remember this happening to me when I was younger, but maybe I was just used to that feeling and now, because I really don’t eat that much sugar, it affects me more.
Whatever the reason, that yucky feeling is a pretty good deterrent for me to be mindful of how much I consume. But, because I still love chocolate, and partaking in Valentine’s Day cheer, I’ve found ways around this!
This smoothie is one particular way! I was inspired by my lovely blogger pal Beth of Tasty Yummies who whipped up a smoothie using avocado back in January. Using avocado is genius as it truly takes smoothie richness to a whole new level.
Sweet, rich, creamy, and (kind of) indulgent. It definitely isn’t low calorie which I think is what makes it more indulgent, but ‘low-calorie’ isn’t my definition of healthy anyways. When I think of ‘healthy’ I think of ingredient quality, and this smoothie is filled with whole-food goodness!
Avocado and chia seeds bring in loads of healthy omega-rich fatty acids that boost mood, digestion, cardiovascular and nervous system health, along with (as mentioned before) lending a rich, creamy texture to the smoothie. For the chocolaty goodness I used dark chocolate sweetened with unrefined sugars and rich raw cocoa which is full of antioxidants! I then added in frozen banana which brings in more sweetness, creaminess, vitamins and minerals!
For Valentine’s Day, why not show yourself (and whoever gets to enjoy breakfast with you) a little love by blending up this amazing combo of nourishing ingredients that will leave your body feeling loved and of course, put a smile on your face!
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds + 3 tablespoons almond milk
- 1 banana (I use frozen for a creamier consistency)
- ½ of an avocado, pitted
- ½ ounce of organic 70% dark chocolate(one sweetened with unrefined sugar preferred)
- 1 heaping tablespoon raw cocoa powder
- ½ -1 cup unsweetened almond milk(depending on how thick you prefer your smoothie to be)
- 5 ice cubes
- Optional Garnishes:
- pinch of sea salt
- chopped dark chocolate chunks or chocolate shavings
- chia seeds
- Start by making a chia pudding by mixing together the chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of almond milk in a small glass. Let sit for 5-10 minutes to thicken.
- Add the remaining ingredients to the blender along with the chia pudding.
- Blend until smooth.
- Top with a pinch of sea salt and some chopped dark chocolate.
- Enjoy!
Recipe inspired by Tasty Yummies
Have an amazing rest of your Sunday!
Christal
Nutritionist in the Kitch
More Healthy Smoothie Recipes To Try:
Fresh Lemon Ginger Detoxifying Smoothie
This was really good!!! I really enjoyed this recipe!! I’m making it for the second time today!!! Xoxoxo
Awesome! Glad you enjoyed Crissy!
I hope you had a lovely weekend Christal 😀
This smoothie looks and sounds heavenly, not to mention ridiculously creamy! Wouldnæt mind having started yesterday with one of these, mmmm 🙂 x
It’s never too late for a good ol chocolate smoothie! 🙂 Great to hear from you Jules, it’s been a while! I hope you are doing well!
I love avocados! Never paired it with chocolate before! Maybe I should be daring and try it!
It is definitely worth the try!!