A Cookable Feast

Luxuriously creamy, plant-powered decadence has made its way to A Cookable Feast today. Say hello to Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake!

A milkshake for breakfast??? Yes, indeed! When it’s processed-sugar-free – and gluten-free, and dairy-free, and vegan – a milkshake is a totally valid breakfast. Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake is essentially a smoothie, but calling it a milkshake feels more whimsical.

Banana-cacao smoothies have been my go-to breakfast for years. If I’m remembering correctly, I was first introduced to this smoothie by The Sugar Smart Diet. That book made an impact on me when I read it in 2014, transforming the seemingly-impossible task of reducing my processed sugar intake to a doable enterprise.

One significant way I overhauled my diet after reading The Sugar Smart Diet was to stop buying cereal, since much of it is chockful of processed sugar. Gone were my beloved Frosted Mini Wheats! But in their place were breakfasts such as the banana-cacao smoothie. It was the best of both worlds: dessert-like, but without the baddie processed sugar. It was the healthy version of a milkshake!

I used to have a recipe for that banana-cacao smoothie available here on A Cookable Feast, but it seems to have disappeared . . . vanished in the move between web-hosting platforms, perhaps? Never mind all that, because Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake is here today, and it’s a dressed-up version of the original!

That banana-cacao smoothie wasn’t the only inspiration for this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake. Green Kitchen Stories’ Dark Chocolate & Sweet Tahini Cups recipe introduced me to the flavor mash-up of chocolate and tahini, while an episode of Molly Yeh’s Girl Meets Farm acquainted me with her tahini milkshake. Both recipes helped birth this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake in my brain.

What I love most about this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake is that it has a wonderfully caramelly flavor. It might seem weird for a smoothie to include an ingredient commonly used in dressings and hummus! But when combined with the honey and the banana and the unsweetened raw cacao, it mellows into this more subtle flavor that reminds me of caramel. A bit of sea salt enhances that flavor essence.

Speaking of unsweetened raw cacao: it’s a definite star of this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake. I love that it lends chocolatey flavor to the recipe without adding processed sugar and that it contains healthful antioxidants and minerals such as iron, magnesium, and potassium.

My go-to producer of unsweetened raw cacao is Healthworks. I buy five-pound bags of the stuff from them! However, you don’t have to go all in and invest in that weighty sack of cacao to give it a try. Both Healthworks and grocery stores such as Whole Foods sell unsweetened raw cacao in much smaller amounts (such as 16 ounces).

What makes this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake truly milkshake-like is the frozen bananas. I like to ensure I always have a few (or a few dozen!) frozen bananas on hand, it being my preferred base ingredient for smoothies. My method for freezing bananas is . . .

• Ensure bananas are ripe (for optimal sweetness).
• Peel each banana and break them in half (it makes them easier to blend when frozen).
• Wrap the banana pieces in parchment paper. I include two bananas per package, since I always use two bananas per smoothie.
• Allow bananas to freeze at least overnight before using.

Ready to give this Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake a try? Then it’s on to the recipe! 🙂

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Chocolate-Tahini Banana Breakfast Milkshake

Luxuriously creamy and downright decadent, this smoothie more closely resembles a milkshake in taste and appearance. But its two servings of fruit; nutrient-loaded cacao; protein-packed tahini; and vegan, dairy-free, and processed-sugar-free status make it a smart choice for breakfast.

Course Breakfast

Keyword Bananas, Breakfast, Chocolate, Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free, Processed-Sugar-Free, Smoothies, Tahini, Vegan

Servings 1

Author A Cookable Feast

Ingredients

• 2 large ripe bananas, peeled and frozen (Freeze at least overnight)
• 1 to 1 1/4 cups unsweetened raw almond milk (Use less milk for a more frosty-like consistency)
• 2 tbs. tahini
• 1 tbs. + 1 tsp. unsweetened raw cacao
• 2 tsp. honey
• 1/8 tsp. sea salt

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend and enjoy!

2. If the consistency is thicker than you'd prefer, add a little more milk until desired consistency is achieved.