Tip: Freeze your bananas
Peel ripe bananas and freeze them in chunks. Blended from frozen, they create a thick, ice cream-like texture without needing ice cream or ice.
Add everything to your blender
Place the banana, cacao powder, oat milk, nut butter, flaxseeds, date (if using), salt, and cinnamon into a high-speed blender. Add ice cubes if you prefer a colder, thicker drink.
Blend until silky smooth
Blend on high for 45–60 seconds until completely smooth. If it's too thick, add a splash more oat milk. If you want it thicker, add another small piece of frozen banana.
Taste and serve immediately
Taste and adjust: more cacao for a deeper chocolate flavour, more date for sweetness, more nut butter for richness. Pour into glasses and serve immediately. Top with a light dusting of cacao powder, a banana slice, or a drizzle of nut butter if you want to make it look beautiful.
Raw cacao is extraordinarily nutrient-dense: one of the highest plant sources of magnesium (crucial for over 300 enzymatic processes in the body), rich in flavanols that support cardiovascular health, and a natural source of theobromine — a gentler stimulant than caffeine that provides sustained energy without the crash.
Ground flaxseeds add omega-3 fatty acids and lignans (phytoestrogens), making this smoothie particularly beneficial for women in perimenopause. Bananas provide resistant starch (gut-friendly fibre), potassium, and tryptophan — a precursor to serotonin. This is not a treat drink. It's a meal.
Protein boost
Add 1 scoop of unflavoured or chocolate plant protein powder
Green version
Add a large handful of spinach — you won't taste it, but you'll get all the iron and folate
Spiced
Add ½ tsp turmeric and a crack of black pepper for an anti-inflammatory twist
Coffee variation
Add a shot of cold espresso for a mocha-style breakfast smoothie
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