Healthy PMS-worthy Cocoa Smoothie
Considering how much I've been loving this and how many times I describe it to someone ("chocolate softserve icecream meets tropical drink") and they go, "ooooooh, recipe?", I thought I should post it here for posterity:
My basic indulgent PMS-remedying tropical chocolate smoothie recipe: (yes, it's in a mathematical ratio, where X = 1, 2 or 3, depending on how much smoothie you want, I am a GEEK)
X bananas
X tbsp unsweetened cocoa (***)
X tbsp oil, ideally coconut, but as the coconut seems to set off my gallbladder, I've been using EVOO & it's very tasty that way too
X large frozen strawberries or 2X slices frozen peaches (I like the peaches better)
X+2 shakes ground cardamom (seriously, this takes it from good, to GOOOD)
1/4 X cups cold water
(healthy(er) option: you can fairly easily hide 3-8oz of green is this if you like. I once successfully hid 6-7oz of bok choy & a a small beet in one, but don't feel obligated)
1. put in blender, bananas first & blend till smooth (20-30sec)
2. Adjust to taste -- it depends slightly on the ripeness of the bananas. If you want it sweeter add more bananas. If you want a darker chocolate, more cocoa. If it needs to be brighter/tangier or seems flat, add more strawberries/peaches. Then reblend.
3. Sip & cackle gleefully.
Banana Hater Note: I bet you could try this replacing each banana with about a cup of sweet grapes.
Flavor note: as chocolate is inherently strong tasting/bitter, it hides the heck out of any possible odd flavor from the EVOO & greens.
Spice note: I suspect that allspice, or allspice + vanilla extract, may reasonably replace the cardamom, but haven't tried it. CARDAMOM GOOD. TRUST THE CARDAMOM!
PMS note: I've noticed that making it a darker chocolate, using 3-4tbsp cocoa, kicks the HELL out of my PMS** moods & sweet/carb cravings. OTOH, at that level, it contains as much caffeine as a cup of green tea, so you're warned.
PMS note 2: if you're brave enough to try including greens, that ups the mineral content calcium/magnesium of the smoothie - which should further help with all moods/cravings from PMS.
(**) Upon researching chocolate info, I realized that this amount of cocoa contains about 20-25% of your RDA of both iron and magnesium, which explains a lot about it being menstrual-worthy. (Magnesium is a mineral most people are chronically deprived of & is involved in muscle relaxation INCLUDING UTERINE MUSCLE. The iron, I believe, is self explanatory.)
(***) EDIT 3: QUALITY OF COCOA MATTERS. Seriously. I had been using Droste cocoa for drinking/baking. I ran out today so used Hershey's. I even used extra. Still good, but not *remotely* as intense and an order of magnitude less dark chocolatey than the Droste. Yes, it totally matters. I knew it mattered, but wow did I just have it re-proved to myself.
EDIT: I am completely incapable of posting something without changing it a zillion (8+) times for clarity. Sorry if it keeps changing and seems surreal.
EDIT2 : Husband seems to think it's gritty. I don't notice it, but it's entirely possible that I didn't get the cocoa + cardamom powders sufficiently mixed in. You may wish to consider adding more water or oil or just mixing the liquids + powders FIRST before adding any fruit.
My basic indulgent PMS-remedying tropical chocolate smoothie recipe: (yes, it's in a mathematical ratio, where X = 1, 2 or 3, depending on how much smoothie you want, I am a GEEK)
X bananas
X tbsp unsweetened cocoa (***)
X tbsp oil, ideally coconut, but as the coconut seems to set off my gallbladder, I've been using EVOO & it's very tasty that way too
X large frozen strawberries or 2X slices frozen peaches (I like the peaches better)
X+2 shakes ground cardamom (seriously, this takes it from good, to GOOOD)
1/4 X cups cold water
(healthy(er) option: you can fairly easily hide 3-8oz of green is this if you like. I once successfully hid 6-7oz of bok choy & a a small beet in one, but don't feel obligated)
1. put in blender, bananas first & blend till smooth (20-30sec)
2. Adjust to taste -- it depends slightly on the ripeness of the bananas. If you want it sweeter add more bananas. If you want a darker chocolate, more cocoa. If it needs to be brighter/tangier or seems flat, add more strawberries/peaches. Then reblend.
3. Sip & cackle gleefully.
Banana Hater Note: I bet you could try this replacing each banana with about a cup of sweet grapes.
Flavor note: as chocolate is inherently strong tasting/bitter, it hides the heck out of any possible odd flavor from the EVOO & greens.
Spice note: I suspect that allspice, or allspice + vanilla extract, may reasonably replace the cardamom, but haven't tried it. CARDAMOM GOOD. TRUST THE CARDAMOM!
PMS note: I've noticed that making it a darker chocolate, using 3-4tbsp cocoa, kicks the HELL out of my PMS** moods & sweet/carb cravings. OTOH, at that level, it contains as much caffeine as a cup of green tea, so you're warned.
PMS note 2: if you're brave enough to try including greens, that ups the mineral content calcium/magnesium of the smoothie - which should further help with all moods/cravings from PMS.
(**) Upon researching chocolate info, I realized that this amount of cocoa contains about 20-25% of your RDA of both iron and magnesium, which explains a lot about it being menstrual-worthy. (Magnesium is a mineral most people are chronically deprived of & is involved in muscle relaxation INCLUDING UTERINE MUSCLE. The iron, I believe, is self explanatory.)
(***) EDIT 3: QUALITY OF COCOA MATTERS. Seriously. I had been using Droste cocoa for drinking/baking. I ran out today so used Hershey's. I even used extra. Still good, but not *remotely* as intense and an order of magnitude less dark chocolatey than the Droste. Yes, it totally matters. I knew it mattered, but wow did I just have it re-proved to myself.
EDIT: I am completely incapable of posting something without changing it a zillion (8+) times for clarity. Sorry if it keeps changing and seems surreal.
EDIT2 : Husband seems to think it's gritty. I don't notice it, but it's entirely possible that I didn't get the cocoa + cardamom powders sufficiently mixed in. You may wish to consider adding more water or oil or just mixing the liquids + powders FIRST before adding any fruit.