My Favourite Shakes - A Healthful Alternative

I’ve always loved milkshakes.  I think my love affair started at our bi-annual birthday trips to McDonalds. 

We didn’t have birthday parties like other kids, instead our family would get to go to McDonalds as a birthday treat.  There were three of us, which should have meant three trips per annum, but my brothers were born a three years apart less one day, so their birthday trip was combined.  My favourite part of the visit was always the thick, creamy, icy Chocolate Shakes that would accompany our meal.  I can’t remember the burger I would chose, but I do remember those shakes!

This love of milkshakes has continued into adulthood, but now I understand the high fat and sugar content may not do my body much good.  I’m lucky that I also love healthy food and I enjoy looking for healthier alternatives to naughty treat food.  There have been so many stores popping up over the last number of years that offer ‘healthy’ drinks – smoothies and fat-free frozen yoghurt, for example.  However, there has been a nutrition movement that identifies sugar as the real enemy in our cupboards.  Smoothies and Fat-Free products are often filled with sugar to compensate for a lack of taste. 

In addition, our bodies don’t deal with liquefied food in the same way that we deal with food we have to chew ourselves.  Think of how full you feel after drinking a smoothie compared to if you had eaten the fruit that went into the smoothie.  We often don’t think of drinks as part of our food intake for the day, but they really count.

Post workout, I’m often craving sugar and need something that I can get into my body quickly.  I still love the taste of chocolate, but I’m willing to substitute the ice cream for something more nutritional. 

I’ve experimented with different recipes (and willing guinea-pigs) and I’ve come up with the following recipe.  Enjoy J

Choc-Banana Avo Shake

1 small ripe banana (the riper the fruit, the sweeter the shake)

2.5ml Agave Syrup (sweeter than sugar, so less is needed.  Honey can also be used)

Half a ripe Avocado

1 dessert spoon of cocoa (unsweetened)

200ml Rice/Soya/Almond Milk (adjust amounts depending on consistency)

Ice

Blitz all ingredients together until smooth. 

Adjust sweetness with the agave/honey depending on your taste.  You will soon adjust to less sweet foods if you give your body a few days to adjust.

The Cocoa can be substituted with Berries or can be left out for a Banana Shake.  Natural Peanut Butter can be used to add some nutty goodness – experiment with your favourite flavours!  Protein powder (available in Healthfood Stores) can also be included to increase bulk.