Cocoa, Banana & Almond Heart Smoothie
Unsweetened cocoa blended with banana, almond butter, and milk into something that tastes like chocolate milk and behaves like breakfast.
Why it works
Cocoa flavanols are among the better-evidenced compounds for blood vessel function. They increase nitric oxide availability in the endothelium, the lining of your blood vessels, which shows up in trials as improved flow-mediated dilation and small reductions in blood pressure. The catch is that the flavanols are bitter, so most chocolate products remove them: Dutch-processed cocoa in particular loses much of its flavanol content to the alkali treatment. Natural unsweetened cocoa powder is the version worth buying. Banana adds potassium, which works against sodium on blood pressure, and almond butter adds monounsaturated fat and vitamin E so the drink holds you.
Cocoa flavanols have meta-analyses supporting improved endothelial function and small blood-pressure reductions. Use natural unsweetened cocoa; Dutch-processed loses much of the active compound.
Ingredients
- 300 ml milk or unsweetened soy milk
- 1 large frozen banana (about 120 g)
- 2 tbsp (10 g) natural unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 tbsp (16 g) almond butter
- 1 tbsp (10 g) ground flaxseed
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
- Pour the liquid into the blender first, then add the soft ingredients, then anything frozen or hard on top. Blending in that order keeps the blades in liquid instead of spinning against a frozen block.
- Rub the cocoa between your fingers as you add it to break up any lumps, or they will survive the blending as bitter specks.
- Blend on low until it breaks up, then on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until no flecks remain and the texture is even.
- Taste and adjust: a splash more liquid if it is too thick to pour, a squeeze of citrus if it tastes flat, a few more ice cubes if you want it colder.
- Drink it soon after blending. The texture separates within about ten minutes, and the colour dulls as the cut surfaces oxidise.
