Chocolate Avocado Strawberry Smoothie

Here’s a creamy chocolate treat to cool off on a hot afternoon with or just enjoy after dinner as a healthy end to the day. There’s an avocado in it, but it doesn’t taste like avocado at all; that’s really there for the texture. The taste is all from the strawberries and chocolate, with a little extra honey for sweetness if you like it that way.

When you’re choosing your chocolate, remember to go for the highest-quality kind you can (here’s a guide to choosing good chocolate). Go for at least 85% dark chocolate; the darker the better. Also watch out for the almond milk, if you’re using it; a lot of store-bought almond milk is full of junk to make it shelf-stable at room temperature. Look for it in the refrigerated section, and read the ingredients carefully.

Adding avocado to the smoothie provides some healthy fats to balance out the sugar in the chocolate and honey, but that still doesn’t make a smoothie healthy as an everyday food. Healthy treats are still treats, and if dessert is making a daily appearance on your menu, then you’re not really following the spirit of Paleo. Make them occasional, and make them really worth it when you do indulge – just like this one!

Chocolate Avocado Strawberry Smoothie Recipe

SERVES: 2 PREP: 15 min.

Ingredients

• 1 cup frozen strawberries
• 1 ripe avocado, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 ½ cup almond or coconut milk
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 1 tbsp. raw honey (optional)
• Dark chocolate, grated (optional)

Preparation

1. Place all the ingredients in a blender, and pulse until everything is smooth.
2. Pour mix into 2 large glasses, and sprinkle grated dark chocolate on top.