Hazelnut Mocha Protein Shake

• Yield:1 serving
• Difficulty:Easy
• Time:10 minutes

This shake will satisfy both chocolate and coffee lovers alike! The rich taste of hazelnut compliments chocolate beautifully without the calories, the sugar, or the guilt. You can make it either with or without caffeine, depending on the type of coffee you use.

If you enjoy caffeine, this recipe makes a mouthwatering breakfast shake, pre-workout shake, or a 2:30 p.m. shake when you need a pick-me-up. When you make it with decaf coffee, have it at any time of the day. If you are extremely sensitive to caffeine, please note that both cocoa powder and decaffeinated coffee does have a small amount of caffeine. Coco powder has 12 mg per tablespoon and decaf coffee has 2-12 mg per serving. By comparison, regular coffee has 100-200 mg of caffeine per cup.

You will note that I rarely use any kind of milk or milk substitute in any of my shake recipes. For me, the whey becomes the milk when mixed with water. Why add extra calories? If you really want some form of milk along with your whey, the best options are cashew milk (only 25 calories per glass!) and unsweetened almond milk (30-45 calories per glass). You can get these in most supermarkets. Lately, it has been growing in popularity and is more widely available than it used to be a year or two ago.

Ingredients:

• 1 scoop of chocolate flavored EFX Sports Training Ground Isolate, Pure Whey, or Protein 6
• 1 6-8 ounce cup of cold hazelnut flavored coffee, or regular cold coffee
• ¼ tsp. Hazelnut baking extract or sugar free flavored coffee syrup (if you don’t have hazelnut coffee)
• Ice cubes (have the whole tray on hand, and then play it by ear)
• 1 tsp. baking cocoa
• 1 stevia packet
• 1-2 monk fruit packets
• A sprinkle of nutmeg and cinnamon on top (optional)
• 1 Tbsp. mini chocolate chips (optional)

Directions:

Put the cold coffee, sweeteners, protein, cocoa, and baking extract (if you are using that) into the blender, then add about 5 ice cubes and blend until the ice is fully chopped. This will be a big shake when you add the ice, that’s why I mentioned using only 5 cubes at first. Add more ice if desired, but bear in mind it will dilute the flavor of the shake. Sprinkle on a dusting of nutmeg and cinnamon for the coffee-shop touch, and add a few mini chocolate chips if desired.

Nutrition: