Chocolate Walnut Smoothie

This Chocolate Walnut Smoothie is filled with walnuts and cocoa powder, along with banana, for a healthy yet delectable treat! 

This walnut smoothie is an awesome way to use up walnuts! Every January I get really into smoothies, which I realize is strange because of how cold it normally is outside. I’m going to assume it has something to do with me subconsciously trying to eat healthier while simultaneously not making a big deal about it.

But seriously, aren’t smoothies great? I tend to enjoy them as a snack, or as my second breakfast on mornings when I wake up before 6 am, in which case I tend to get hungry for “lunch” around 10 am. This chocolate walnut smoothie is on the sweeter side, simply because it has chocolate in it, but it’s awesome on days when you need something sweet but don’t want to devour an entire chocolate bar. Plus, who doesn’t love a banana walnut smoothie?! It’s kind of a combination of chocolate chip banana bread and walnut banana bread, both excellent options if you ask

Anyway, let’s chat about this walnut smoothie recipe. 

HOW TO MAKE A WALNUT SMOOTHIE:

Fruit: most smoothie recipes contain fruit, right? Right. This smoothie calls for banana. A few notes: if you want a thicker smoothie, peel the banana, cut it up into bite-size pieces, then place them in a bag (plastic or reusable). Then, place the bag in the freezer for a few hours, or overnight. This will result in not only a colder smoothie, but a thicker smoothie as well. But, if you can’t eat bananas, you can always double the amount of walnuts instead. 

Sweetener: this recipe calls for maple syrup because it tends to be my go-to sweetener. But, you can always sub honey instead or completely omit it if you want to keep this lower in sugar. 

Add-ins: these are the extra things that are fun to add to a smoothie, but they don’t add much in terms of flavor. This recipe calls for chia seeds because they’re flavorless and packed with fiber and protein. You could also use hemp seeds if you prefer. Or, you can omit these extras to keep things simple. 

Once you have all your ingredients, you’ll simply add them to your blender then blend away until everything is smooth. Last, sprinkle it with a pinch of sea salt for that salty sweet goodness and honestly, is there anything better?

HEALTHY SMOOTHIE RECIPES:

• blueberry kiwi protein smoothie
• raspberry pistachio smoothie
• green banana bread smoothie