{Recipe Recap} Chocolate Green Monster Smoothie

I’m not going to lie, this smoothie is not pretty. It doesn’t beg you to drink it.  You don’t eat it with your eyes first.

As ugly as this smoothie is, though, it may be my favorite.  Really, though, was there much doubt that I’d really like the chocolate version?

Here’s how I made it.

Ingredients:

• 2 T. cocoa powder (the kind you bake with)
• 1/2 c. 2% Greek yogurt
• Scant 1/4 c. 1% milk
• Half to one scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder
• 2 handfuls baby spinach
• A cup or so of ice
• One packet sweetener of your choice if you need it

Instructions:

• Add yogurt, cocoa powder, milk, and spinach to the blender.  This order helps to keep the powder from exploding when the blender comes on.  Blend until fully combined.
• Add protein powder and sweetener and blend 30 seconds.
• Add ice and let blender run on highest setting for a couple minutes to get the mixture nice and smooth.
• Adjust the thickness as needed with more milk/water or ice.

If you haven’t tried it, I know you have a hard time believing that spinach and chocolate can be good together, but I promise that I wouldn’t lead you astray when it comes to chocolate.  Now, don’t get me wrong, this is no Baskin Robbins milkshake either, but it’s pretty tasty for what it is.

The other new recipe I tried was a strawberry-oatmeal smoothie.  Yep, I added oats to my smoothie.  I was skeptical, but with the vanilla protein powder, it turned out pretty good.  I would definitely make it again.

Check out Katherine’s post with pictures and links to other participants.  Maybe you’ll find a recipe that calls your name.

Thanks, Katherine, for hosting this again.  I only got in five smoothies since I started a couple days late, but it was a great reminder of what an easy way they are to get in a little bit of everything I need in one meal.  What I’d like to experiment with now is making them ahead so I can just grab one in the morning before work as opposed to making them from scratch, which takes time I already don’t have enough of thanks to a cold bedroom and the snooze button.