Choco-Caramel Almond Delight Smoothie
With summer come those rising temperatures that leave us sweating buckets. Here in Colorado, we’ve already experienced quite a few 90+ degree days and we’re just finishing up June! I know, I know. Those of you in Texas and Florida are now rolling your eyes due to the fact that you’re used to those 90 degree days with a WHOLE lot more humidity involved. Some of you reading this might even be 100+ degree veterans.
I’ve long been a believer in the benefits of drinking smoothies, especially for post-workout recovery. Smoothies taste even better during the summer time when you want something cold and refreshing. They’re also very easily digested and allow your body to make the most of that nutrition in a short amount of time.
You chocolate lovers are going to absolutely love the following smoothie recipe I’ve adapted from one of the recipes in my book Smoothies For Runners 2.0. Whether you’re a runner, swimmer, cyclist or all three, this smoothie is going to light up your taste buds and provide some lovin’ for your body.
Smoothie Description
Sometimes we just need to splurge and enjoy a decadent dessert. With this smoothie, you can enjoy the flavors of chocolate, caramel and almonds while also gaining some quality nutrition. Almonds are high in vitamin E and have also been shown to reduce LDL-cholesterol as much as first generation statin drugs. Almonds are a very satiating snack with 6g of protein per serving (about 22 nuts). Who knew that going nuts could be so healthy?
Ingredients
- 1 cup chocolate almond milk
- 1 frozen ripe banana
- 2 pitted medjool dates (soak ahead of time to soften)
- 2 scoops BodyHealth PerfectAmino Power Meal dark chocolate flavor (use code HITZ10 for additional 10% off)
- 1 Tbsp. almond butter
- 1 Tsp. almond extract
- Almond slices or dark chocolate chips for garnish
- BONUS – for a sweet & salty flavor, put some salt around the rim of your glass like you would for a margarita.
Blend all ingredients until smooth
Nutrition Facts
560 calories, 118g carbs, 19g fat, 12g protein
Training Tip
If you’re going to splurge, whether it’s a decadent smoothie or another sweet treat, you might as well earn it by clearing some hard-earned calories with a nice long run. Studies have shown longer, slower runs to be very efficient at fat burning. Many runners will differ on their definition of a long run, but I believe 90 minutes or more will begin to tap into those fat stores as fuel. Most of us will agree that food always tastes better after a long run!