You know you have a chocolate habit when you make up words like “chocolatey” and are always looking for a fix. In my language, chocolate is happiness. I love chocolate to the moon and back and living without dairy does not mean I don’t get to continue to enjoy it. Yes, I do avoid milk chocolate.  But the joy of creamy raw cacao blended into a thick smoothie is still there. Cacao is by all accounts the purest form of chocolate you can have. As opposed to cocoa powder, raw cacao is highly unprocessed and has not been roasted at high temperatures. This discussion merits a separate blog post, raw cacao versus cocoa powder! But for now, here’s this delicious chocolate smoothie that is guaranteed to fill your mornings with a high dose of glee. Enjoy!!

• 1 frozen very ripe banana cut into chunks
• 2-3 Medjool pitted dates
• 1 tablespoon of almond butter
• 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons of raw cacao powder
• 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk without *carrageenan

Dates and bananas are AMAZING at adding sweetness, and keeping your smoothie free of refined/processed white sugars. You could also substitute the almond milk with cashew or coconut milk.

*Carrageenan has been linked to cancer in some preliminary studies and I try to avoid it as a precautionary measure.