Chocolate berry smoothie - a rich, chocolatey smoothie that feels like you are drinking dessert but it is totally healthy!
I always feel like a bit of a cheat when I post a smoothie recipe because they are so simple that it almost feels wrong to even call it a recipe; I mean, the instructions are only one line long for goodness sake! Nevertheless, I having been making this chocolate berry smoothie a lot recently so thought that I would go ahead and share it as I like it so much.
I don't really do smoothies for breakfast, I prefer something that you can actually chew in the morning; but I do like to have a smoothie as a mid-morning snack and I always make sure that I have bananas in the fruit bowl and berries in the freezer for that purpose.
Frozen berries are perfect for smoothies as there is no need to add ice, they keep for so much longer than fresh and they are much cheaper to buy too. I also like to have them in the freezer to bake with - this berry lime bundt cake was made with frozen berries.
This chocolate berry smoothie has a very rich, chocolatey flavour and almost feels like you are drinking dessert but it is totally healthy. Berries are not only useful but very good for you! I used a mixture of blackberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants (a shop-bought mix) but feel free to vary the variety, cherries in particular would be good.
The chocolate element comes in the form of cocoa powder, or cacao if you have it, it doesn't matter which. A dash of maple syrup takes the bitter edge off (both cocoa and berries are a bit bitter so I feel a little bit of added sweetness is needed) and I added in some chia seeds just because they are good for you.
I prefer my smoothies to be made with milk and banana for creaminess, you can't taste the banana in this case but it does add natural sweetness, makes it more filling and crams another portion of fruit in. I used oat milk in mine but any kind of milk will work.
Chocolate Berry Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 very ripe banana
- 100 g (¾ cup) mixed frozen berries (I use a mix of blackberries, raspberries, blackcurrants and redcurrants)
- 1 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tsp cocoa powder or cacao
- 250 ml (1 cup) milk of your choice (I use oat milk)
Instructions
- Place all of the ingredients into a blender and blitz until smooth. Pour into a glass and serve.
[…] so I guess I should really be posting a smoothie recipe right now, not an indulgent milkshake. This goes against the usual January healthy eating […]