Paul’s ‘Too Much Cacao’ Banana Baobab Smoothie!

When my brother came for a visit recently, he asked if we could make a smoothie. It was his birthday yesterday, so I thought I would post ‘his’ smoothie recipe.

I let him loose in the kitchen and he chose the ingredients, some at my suggestion as he hadn’t tried them before. I wanted to include peanut butter but he doesn’t like it so I suggested tahini (sesame seed paste, a good source of calcium).  He was sceptical, but in it went before he could object! He hadn’t had cacao powder before (high in minerals and antioxidants), but was keen to try and I suggested he put a tablespoon in. This proved a bit too much for him, and I realised I should have eased him in more gently. I sneaked in some baobab powder,* too, (Vitamin C, minerals, antioxidants) but again I probably should have just used a teaspoon but probably went a little overboard as I like it. He wasn’t sure about the medjool date either (potassium, B6, magnesium, fibre), but was probably influenced by the sticky dried dates we used to have at Christmas when we were children.

There was a bit too much for him to drink – he’s a smoothie novice – so I gave the rest to my sister-in-law. Paul asked if I was going to put the recipe on my blog. Initially, I said no, as I wasn’t sure it had been a resounding success, but I thought about it and decided to put it to the jury.

My sister-in-law loved it, my brother said it was very nice but for him the cacao dominated a little too much. For me, the kiwi was a little unripe! (High in Vitamin C, good source of potassium, Vitamin K – necessary for bone health). I couldn’t judge properly as I was on the final day of a juice plan and didn’t want to have such a rich smoothie just yet, so I only had a taste.

Anyway, I recreated it for this post though I’ve reduced the baobab powder* for the recipe, just in case you’re a newbie too (it has a light, citrusy sherbet taste), but for the sake of authenticity I even used an unripe kiwi!  You can reduce the cacao powder too if you’re not sure. I loved it, what do you think?

This smoothie has protein, fibre, antioxidants, healthy omega oils, potassium, calcium, iron, B vitamins, and will provide you with lots of energy!

All measurements are approximate.

 Vegan, Gluten-free, Nutfree and Organic where possible.

Ingredients

1 Small Ripe Banana

1 Kiwi, peeled

1 Heaped Tbsp Hemp Seeds*

1 Tbsp Raw Cacao Powder*

1 Tbsp Tahini

1 Tsp Aduna Baobab Powder

1 Medjool Date, pitted

Coconut Water, according to how thick or thin you like it.

Blend all the ingredients and serve with ice if you prefer your smoothies chilled.

Unfortunately, we didn’t take a photo at the time, so I photographed my recreation and sprinkled on some hemp seeds and raw chocolate raisins.* Yum!

Cheers, Paul!

Ps This stool is 44 years old and has a wonky leg, but I love it!

*See my review post The Benefits of Baobab, a Fruity Protein Smoothie + Review of Aduna Bars.

*https://www.therawchocolatecompany.com/

https://aduna.com/

Copyright: Chris McGowan