Okay, so it’s cold and crispy out and I’m ready for a hot drink. I want a nutritious, non-dairy comforting steaming yummy drink. So I decided to make up a hot chocolate style smoothie. A soothie. PUt a banana in it so I can say I had some fruit. Put the best chocolate ever in it, so I can have some theobromine. Put some nuts in it for protein and pizazz. Add a little vanilla just because. And tie it all together with super healthy coconut milk. Of course, if you’re not avoiding dairy like we are, then you could make this with milk.
It’s really yummy. Thick. Creamy. Chocolatey. Awesome. Try it!
Hot Chocolate Banana Nut Soothie (no that is not a typo)
INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup roasted pecans
- 2 cups rice milk, lowfat milk or coconut milk
- 2 oz. chocolate chunks (I like dark chocolate best, but you can use milk chocolate, semi sweet, or white chocolate)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 ripe banana
- Maple syrup or honey, to taste
PREPARATION
- Roast the raw pecans in the oven on about 325F for about 10 minutes, until just starting to brown. Watch carefully so they don’t burn.
- In a saucepan, warm the milk and chocolate chunks together until smooth and creamy. Be patient and use low heat so you don’t scorch the milk. Stir with a whisk every minute or so. Do not let the milk boil, but bring it to an almost boil so it is very hot.
- Put the banana chunks, pecans and vanilla in a blender (or use a hand-held immersion blender). Carefully pour in the hot chocolate milk. Put on the lid — tight — and blend til smooth and foamy. (I usually cover my blender with a kitchen towel in case the hot liquid comes out from around the lid just for safety.)
- Taste it! You might want to add a little sweetener (maple syrup, honey, stevia, sugar) especially if you didn’t use a really ripe banana.
- Serve immediately while it’s still hot. This drink thickens as it cools and you may need to stir with a spoon as you slurp it down. But what’s a hot drink without a spoon to doodle in it?
NOTES
* This drink doesn’t do well if re-heated (I think that’s because of the banana)
* you may want to add almond extract in addition to or instead of the vanilla
* I use Shaman Chocolate, best chocolate ever!
