Obsession.
It can easily manifest itself in the form of drinkable chocolate.
If you’re like me, whose obsessive tendencies are coupled with the patience of a two-year-old, you may pitch a fit when all of the bananas at your grocery store are bright green and nowhere close to the freckled brown state of over-ripeness that makes for the best smoothies on the face of the planet. But if your propensity to fuel your obsessive tendencies is like mine, you keep a rotating stock of bananas at all times lest you run out entirely and are left to (heaven forbid) wait for a new stock of green bananas to ripen. Drinkable chocolate: it waits for no banana.
This smoothie tastes just like chocolate milk, but it is full of health benefits from the hemp seeds and raw cacao powder. So basically this is the healthiest “chocolate milk” you ever did drink.
I saw this recipe for Creamy Chocolate Hemp Seed Smoothie for Two by Oh She Glows a couple of weeks ago, and knew I needed to try it, partially because I had a bag of hemp seeds that I had no clue what to do with, but also because I have no qualms about consuming chocolate for breakfast. So I’ve been doing just that…for two weeks straight.
The recipe says the smoothie is meant for two people, but because my adoration of chocolate for breakfast is mirrored by my undying need to consume in volume, I drink the whole thing, just me, myself, and I. The recipe also calls for dates, which I am hugely fond of, but I don’t tend to have them in the pantry, so I changed the recipe just a tad to accommodate the lack of date-edness.
Hemp seeds have come into the limelight recently because as it turns out, they’re a pretty superriffic superfood. Hemp seeds contain all essential amino acids, which means they are full of complete protein. They are also easy for your body to digest and absorb, which makes them a favored source of protein among vegetarians and vegans. Additionally, hemp seeds have omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, as well as magnesium and iron.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it.
Juuuust kidding. Don’t do that.
You can throw hemp seeds in green or grain salads (and salad dressings), veggie-filled burrito bowls, or your favorite vegetable noodle dish. Hemp powder is also a great option for adding to homemade protein bars, no-bake or baked treats, as well as smoothies such as this one.
Drinkable chocolate. It’s your friend with benefits.
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 ripe bananas, peeled and frozen
- 2 cups unsweetened almond milk
- 1-1/2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
- 1 tablespoon hemp seeds
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 large ice cubes
Instructions
- Put everything in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth.
I have yet to get out and shell out the moolah for hemp seeds and cacao powder, but smoothies just might be the gateway I need 🙂 Also, I do have a mini mental breakdown everytime I see only green bananas at the grocery store- sometimes I’ll even go out of my way to go to another store to find yellow ones!
Oh Aly. Have you been having the green banana problem alllll summer looooong? Cause I have. It’s like the banana farmers are on a hurry-up-and-wait schedule because they’re solid green every time I go. I’m not joking when I say I have bananas sitting on my counter for 5 days before they’re ready to be consumed. But I digress…..let me know if you end up picking up some cacao and hemp seeds. They’re truly marvelous superfoods!
I never know what to do with hemp seeds, either! I love banana chocolate shakes, so this is right up my alley. Yum!
Seriously, this is how all the hemps is getting used!
Also, your pretty photo of spilled hemp seeds made me laugh because at my house, if I tried that, there would be a little hand driving a toy train or car through there faster than I could snap a photo. 🙂
LOL! I would just die if you posted pictures on your blog with your kidlet’s hand driving a train through the picture. This needs to happen. So cute!
Looks delicious Julia! Gotta give this a try. I’m a sucker for chocolate smoothies. Pinning!
Thanks, Melanie! Glad you like the idea 🙂
i have a bag of hemp seeds in my pantry too – i used it with your kale salad earlier. i love banana and chocolate combo together, so this is definitely happening.
Woop woop!
Yum! This is my daily breakfast. It tastes like a chocolate bar (that’s what we call candy bars in Canada) don’t you think?
It does! I was so pleasantly surprised by how sweet and chocolatey it turned out. Makes me wonder why anyone would eat cane sugar-filled chocolate when you can enjoy a creamy glass of nutrish…. I say that, but then I go eat a whole chocolate bar. Meh. Cheers to all things in balance! 😉
I made the Oh She Glows smoothie recently as well–delicious and repeatable. Your version is next. Thanks for the recipe!
Awesome! I love that smoothie! My version is preeeetty similar to the Oh She Glows version, so they end up taking almost exactly the same. So glad you like the smoothie!! 😀
Girl, your photos are stunning! I learned my lesson a few years ago when I needed ripe bananas ASAP and no grocery store had any. Now I buy bananas every time I go to the store. If they get too ripe, I freeze ’em. Love this milk. Totally making this!
You’re speaking straight to my heart, m’dear! So glad you want to make the smoothie – I think it’s right up your alley!
I normally just throw some hemp seeds in my salads (more like an after thought), and I’m so glad you shared this smoothie recipe! I am one who always has ripe banana on hand (I can’t go a day without eating one) so this chocolate drink should come together in a snap 😉
You said it, a banana-a-day’s my motto! SO glad you’re interested in trying the smoothie. Hope you enjoy!
Bananas are always in rotation in this house. It’s so annoying getting to the store and seeing a bunch of green bananas, I have no patience for that. It’s so funny you used hemp seeds in this amazing chocolate smoothie, I was just eyeing them in the bulk bin wondering what the heck I would do with them, now I know!
Yeeeees! Bulk bin hemp seeds it up! The seeds get blended up really well, so you don’t end up with a seed-y texture. It’s really just all sorts of marvelous 🙂
All I hear is chocolate 😉 LOVE that! And now I’m all OOooo over the hemp seeds, must find those bad boys asap!
I typically buy my hemp seeds online…because actually, I buy everything online…but you can totally find them in any natural food store! 😀
Drinkable chocolate for breakfast sounds good to me! Time to restock my hemp seeds.
Wahoo! Let me know if you try the smoothie!
yummmm. love choconaner combinations.
I’m obsessed just looking at this smoothie. I also just so happen to have a ton of ripe frozen bananas, cacao and hemp but no dates. I call that fate.
And I don’t see anything wrong with putting it in my pipe and smoking it. 😉
How funny! I have been craving, and I mean craving, chocolate milk lately. Which is odd for me. This smoothie sounds even better!
I finally just stopped smoking hemp, and now I’m ready to eat it. Kidding…
I have a giant bag of hemp seed, and I’ve been so boring just by sprinkling it on yogurt. Now I know better-chocolate mylk!!
bahahaha! I’m so glad soooooooooooooombebody got the pipe reference 😉 Of course it would be you! I’m making serious doe eyes atcha right now.
I have hemp seed at home, but to be honest I never know what to do with that. Great idea you give me! This must taste so good!!!
ps: your pictures are awesomeeeee!
I was in the exact same boat until I made the smoothie. Now I’m completely addicted to it! Thanks for the sweet compliment, love!
Forget salads, I want my hemp in drinkable chocolate form! Actually, I want all good-for-me foods that way.
Right? Let’s drink all the foods. 😉
Wow! This looks so good! I am a sucker for anything chocolatey especially if I can pretend that it’s a healthy treat! Love the addition of hemp seeds!