This antioxidant-rich berry cacao smoothie is a delicious and nourishing treat for any time of day! Featuring cacao powder, chia seeds, avocado, and organic frozen berries, this creamy and delectable smoothie is full of nutrients to keep both your immune system and tastebuds happy. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

On today’s chocolate-loving holiday, we are starting things off with my favorite berry cacao smoothie!

We have already covered some of my other favorite “chocolate-centric” recipes including my mocha almond joy smoothie, chocolate raspberry avocado pudding (the perfect Valentine’s Day dessert!), and – today’s recipe’s cousin – the best chocolate strawberry smoothie. You are on the Everyday Chocolate blog after all!

I don’t praise the cocoa bean just for its amazing taste potential… although that alone is reason to rejoice. Cocoa bean “products” in their purer forms, such as organic cacao powder (featured in today’s smoothie) and high-quality dark chocolate have the potential to ALSO add a hefty nutrition punch to your daily diet. Depending on the specific brand, we are talking quite possibly an excellent source of magnesium, iron, and antioxidants.

Winning on multiple fronts!

As your trusted nutrition AND flavor connoisseur, I would not lead you astray, especially on a holiday of all days. Let’s read on for the details!

Ingredients in today’s berry cacao smoothie:

I’ve alluded to some of the ingredients and nutrition benefits of this berry cacao smoothie. Let’s take a deeper look, and I’ll also include my grocery shopping tips for acquiring said ingredients!

Almond Milk: I prefer to use unsweetened almond milk in this recipe, but you could just as easily sub in your favorite milk or non-dairy milk of choice. My favorite brand is the Silk Organic Unsweetened variety which I find in 3-packs at Costco! Personally I don’t care for the taste of a lot of other almond milks out there and find that most non-organic brands have loads of added ingredients I’m not super keen on.

Cacao Powder: We are all about the cacao powder in this household – I find many uses for it from energy bites + bars to my warm spicy cacao drink in the morning, to baked goods, endless smoothies, and more. My go-to brand is Nativas Organic, which I find on Amazon. I have had some trouble acquiring this from time to time lately, so this brand is becoming another good go-to choice for me lately.

Organic Protein Powder: I’m not a huge protein powder person, but I do like to include it in a lot of my smoothies for the taste and extra protein it provides. I usually buy Orgain, which I buy at Costco (but can also find on Amazon). I usually stick with keeping the vanilla flavor on hand, since I personally find it to be the most versatile!

Chia Seeds: I love to toss in a tbsp or so of chia seeds into most of my smoothies, because why not?? Added fiber + magnesium + omega-3 fatty acids without changing the taste at all.

Dates: Dates are my natural sweetener of choice when it comes to smoothies. I absolutely love the bags of organic sun-dried dates that I get from Costco. Also getting some additional fiber + potassium!

Organic Frozen Blueberries & Raspberries: Full of antioxidants, frozen organic berries are two of our key featured ingredients in this berry cacao smoothie. While I personally eat mostly organic, if you have to pick and choose berries are something I definitely recommend trying to prioritize as an organic selection. I love the frozen organic blueberries at Costco and the frozen organic raspberries from Trader Joe’s.

Berry Cacao Smoothie:

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Yields: 2 smoothies

Ingredients:
1 avocado (flesh only)
4 dates
2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp cacao powder
2 scoops vanilla protein powder (such as this brand)
1 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup frozen raspberries
Enough almond milk to blend (start w/ just under 2 cups)

Directions:

1. Add all of the ingredients to a high-powered blender. When adding ingredients to your blender, I recommend starting with the avocado, adding the ingredients in the middle (in any order), and then finishing off with the frozen berries and lastly almond milk.
2. Start your blender at a lower speed and then increase speed gradually, blending until smooth.
3. Scoop into two bowls and top with your favorite toppings!

Notes:

• I recommend consuming this smoothie right away / soon after eating (doesn’t keep well when prepped in advance).
• Suggested toppings include fresh fruit, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, granola, cereal, or shredded coconut. The world is your oyster!

Enjoy the rest of your week! 🙂