So here I don’t exactly get an A for originality, but this shake recipe certainly shakes things up from the usual vanilla! Chocolate peanut butter has to be one of the most favored flavors in America, and with good reason: it’s darn yummy! In fact, it was so chocolaty and thick that I couldn’t get any of it through the straw! The straw in the picture was literally pointless (not that I’m complaining or anything) I had to eat it with a spoon. It even seemed to perk me up a bit because the cacao nibs have a little caffeine in them.
For all those who are still under the impression that chocolate is somehow bad for you, I have good news! If it is not loaded with sugar and fat, cocoa powder is very good for you. It can lower blood pressure, improve blood vessel health, reduce bad LDL cholesterol levels, reduce insulin resistance, as well as help prevent heart disease! Aside from decreasing bad LDL cholesterol, cocoa helps increase good HDL cholesterol.
This formerly guilty pleasure is no longer guilty, so bottoms up my friends! If you would like the shake to have fewer calories, use peanut butter powder (cuts 150 calories) and eliminate the ground/chopped peanuts or cacao nibs (another 50-100 calories), or split it with someone (cuts 250 calories). I used this shake as a meal, and now it’s three hours later and I am still full!
Put it all in the blender (except for the ground nuts and cacao nibs) and blend. Top with the cacao nibs and chopped/ground peanuts, and enjoy!
