Chocolate Banana Smoothie Bowl

Silky Smooth, Rich, Chocolate Banana Smoothie with Avocado, Peanut Butter, Frozen Banana, Dutch Chocolate, Hemp Seeds and Agave.  Its packed with protein and vitamins.  Its a decadent breakfast, brunch or just-because snack bowl!

“Inspiration doesn’t know how to tell time” – Unknown Author

I love when I am inspired to make a recipe!

I love when that inspiration comes at the oddest time (8:30pm on a Saturday Night!)

I love when the product of that inspiration is this chocolately good!

Tips for making this smoothie bowl

– If you can, use frozen avocado.  Cut avocado into half (use an avocado that is at the peak of its freshness) and lightly brush with lemon juice. Place in Ziploc bags and write the date.  Let it freeze overnight before using in a smoothie

– Use a frozen banana and not fresh.  Otherwise, you may have to add ice cubes and that ruins the silky texture of this chocolate banana smoothie

– For garnish, I used chocolate syrup.

– Once you have made the smoothie, refrigerate it for about 20 minutes, if you have the patience (I didn’t!).  It tastes much better when its a little cold

– If you don’t have the same Dutch Chocolate powder I used, you can sub it for another one.  You will need to make adjustment to the other ingredients, depending on its flavor

– Use smooth peanut butter because it will make the smoothie very silky

How this chocolate smoothie came to be

It all started Saturday morning when I had this huge craving for chocolate! I couldn’t shake it off, no matter how much I resisted it.

Finally, after dinner, I decided to give into it and try a piece chocolate. (Just in case you are curious to know what it was, it happened to be a (affiliate link) Ferrero Rocher)

But, I ask you, when is just one piece of chocolate ever enough?

I went to my pantry and began searching for more chocolate products

As I was pulling apart my pantry, the realization that I have almost no chocolate products became painfully clear to me.

But, wait, what was that?  Out of the corner of my eye, I read two words on an item

“Dutch Chocolate”

Those were the sweetest words ever!

So, what was it? Its a Juice Plus+ Complete Dutch Chocolate powder (NOT an affiliate link, just a fan-girl link)

“This chocolate is going to make the best chocolate smoothie ever” was what I was thinking as opened up the packet and dipped my pinky in it for taste test.

And, to toot my own horn, yes, it turned out to be the best chocolate banana smoothie ever.

Best toppings for this smoothie bowl

This chocolate smoothie is perfect by itself and needs no toppings!

But, in the world of food photography where we eat with our eyes first, a simple bowl with only chocolate smoothie is not drool-worthy no matter how delicious it tastes!

So, I topped this chocolate peanut butter smoothie with other color-contrasting ingredients to really make this smoothie bowl pop and make you want to eat your monitor!

Add any ingredient that you like on this smoothie.  Come back and tell me what you added to it.  I am always fascinated to see how my readers change up my recipes.

Matcha Powder

I love the green color of Matcha powder, but, its so delicious in everything, like pancakes, sparkling water or Tzatziki.  In this smoothie bowl, Matcha adds a different flavor layer

Strawberries

Ever since I did a media tour of Florida Strawberries, I have been in love with strawberries! They have a very special place in my heart and I find myself putting it in almost everything.  In this smoothie, they are just not sitting pretty.  Chocolate and strawberries are a match made in Valentine’s Day heaven!  You can always make strawberry dressing out of any leftover strawberries or a Greek yogurt bowl.

Hemp Seeds

I added hemp seeds inside the chocolate peanut butter smoothie, but, they are just to pretty to be hidden.  Remember how pretty they looked in my Amaranth Tabouli Recipe?

Chia Seeds

Chia seeds nutrition and black color are the perfect contrast for this smoothie.  I also used them in my Mandarin Orange smoothie

Pepitas

Pepitas add a nice green color to this recipe and a nice crunch.  It was a good thing that I had some left over from my vegan paella recipe

Chocolate Syrup

I used regular chocolate syrup in this recipe.  If I had time, I would have made a vegan chocolate syrup to drizzle on top of the bowl and strawberries.  Its easy to make and delicious.

Granola

It didn’t occur to me until after I licked the last of the chocolate smoothie, that I should have topped it with some granola too! Ugh! I hate it when that happens.  Granola would have added a nice crunch to the smoothie

P/S You can use the frozen bananas you can put them in a waffle recipe.  If you don’t want to freeze them, use them up immediately by making this spicy banana salsa recipe.

If you want your crockpot to make your breakfast for you, I have just the recipe. I made oatmeal in the crock-pot and it was delicious!