Between the ages of 2-28 I consumed a lifetime’s worth of sugar. Seriously. About that time I started noticing a pattern that when I ate sugar, I got sick. After enough times of eating sugar and then getting sick, sugar lost its appeal. But I still crave treats. Here’s my favorite–a sugar free, dairy free chocolate shake.
Ingredients
Water
5 medium-sized dates
1 heaping large spoonful of 100% Cocoa
1/3 of a packet sugar-free Swiss Miss (optional)
1 large spoonful of 100% natural Peanut Butter
3-4 frozen bananas, sliced
Chopped Nuts (peanuts/almonds/pecans/walnuts all work great)
Directions
Note that all of these direction are flexible. You can modify to your tastes, and some of what you do will depend on the type of blender you have, how big the bananas are, etc.
- Fill the blender with 10 ounces of water
- Add five medium size dates
- Blend (I do the liquefy setting on my Blendtec, with some blenders I need to chop up the dates first).
- Add the Cocoa, Peanut Butter and Swiss Miss, as well as the chopped up bananas.
- Blend. If it’s too runny, add more frozen bananas (or use less water next time!) If it’s too thick, add a little bit of water (or use fewer frozen bananas next time!)
- Pour a little bit into a cup, add some chopped nuts. Pour more into the cup, add chopped nuts. Continue until the top.
This is about the right amount for two 12 ounce servings.
I’ve made about 500 of these over the past three years and I still fiddle around with the proportions. So if you don’t get it just right the first time, don’t worry. My goal is to get the consistency of a slightly melted Wendy’s Frosty–but still thick enough to eat with a spoon.
