Eats: Chocolate-Nut Smoothie

Hello! Is that box of candy you got for Valentine's Day gone but the craving for chocolate isn't? But maybe you'd like something more on the healthy side? Well, why not try a Chocolate-Nut Smoothie? 

Here's how you make it:

Chocolate-Nut Smoothie (adapted from an unknown source)

1/4 cup nuts (recipe suggested almonds or hazelnuts)
1 cup water
1/2 cup ice
4-5 dates (recipe suggested subbing honey or maple syrup)
2 teaspoons baking cocoa
1 teaspoon coconut oil (recipe suggested subbing flax seed)

Put all in blender and blend until smooth. Makes one serving. 

Notes: I had walnuts, so I used those. The recipe didn't say, but I assume that the nuts are meant to be raw. 

It didn't say how much honey or maple syrup to use, so I'd say add it to taste. I had dates already on hand so I used them. Unlike honey and maple syrup, the dates have the added benefit of fiber. According to the package, a serving size of five dates provides about 12% of the daily fiber recommended. Not bad! 

True, those five dates also add calories - about 120. The nuts would add close to 200 calories per 1/4 cup serving (would vary some depending on which nuts are used). Thus, not an especially low-calorie smoothie, but I think this would be a good post-workout drink. It's not super sweet by any means, but the chocolatey taste from the baking cocoa is nice. A handful of fruit (berries or banana) would be nice too, I'm sure. 

Here's how the smoothie turned out:

Just for fun, I drank my Chocolate-Nut smoothie in a drinking glass from Belts' Soft Serve of Stevens Point, WI. This is a deliberate irony, since during the three years we lived in Stevens Point I had many grape slushes and Heath Bar flurries (aka blizzard, cyclone, concrete, etc) from Belts'. But nary a smoothie; Belts didn't make them. 

PS I realize that coconut oil and flaxseed may scream "health food store", but these ingredients can now be found in well-stocked grocery stores as well.