Cocoa Avocado Smoothies

The children grew up sipping smoothies with me at lunch.

It’s been interesting watching their love of them gradually slip from the need of pureed fruit to just plain whole fruits. Now, both of the boys prefer berries straight from the vine or oranges from the fruit bowl any day. Whereas the girls like the excitement of slurping through their favorite color straw.

Since the girls are still keeping smoothies as a staple in their diet we’ve been messing around with flavor combinations. Their two favorites are: classic Banana and Banana-Chocolate.

This recipe is what the girls know as the Banana Chocolate. The “avocado” part, I keep to myself.

Yields: 2 largest smoothies for mom and dad or 4 small for little ones

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado, pitted & squeezed

• 2 Tbsp smooth almond butter

• 2 bananas

• 2 tbsp cocoa powder

• 2 dates; pitted

• 4 cubes ice

• 2 C almond macadamia nut milk

Method: Toss all the ingredients into a blender or food processor and let it whirl until smooth; about 2-3 minutes

In the past, when I’ve tried to sneak something new into a smoothie, the children always discovered it. It changed the flavor; the tiny flecks of green could be seen after processing as smooth as possible; or the milk alternative was too nutty and watery.

The missing ingredient that changed (masks) everything was cocoa!

This recipes takes my favorite smoothie recipe + the children’s favorite banana smoothie + a hint or two from Sarah Forte’s chocolate dream smoothie. Together they all unite forces for the common good.

I use whatever greens we have on hand but avocado works best. For me, its the flavor and velvety texture it lends. It incorporates into the smoothie better than lettuces so the littles who assume they don’t like avocado or green food are less likely to visually detect.