A Healthy Chocolate "Milkshake"...Plus a Giveaway You Don't Want To Miss!

You know how sometimes you want a little something sweet?

If you have ever wandered over to my Desserts Page, you have probably deduced that this feeling hits me sort of often.  And I act on it.

But here's the thing.  I also like my clothes to fit.  And despite my undying love for butter and sugar and chocolate, I am aware they are not healthy to eat in large quantities.

So sometimes I go in search of a healthy dessert option.  But, for me, if it doesn't taste good, it's not worth eating.

One night recently I could not get a chocolate milkshake out of my head.  But I had no ice cream in the house.  So I found a recipe online for a chocolate milkshake that had no ice cream.  And it was pretty good.  But not really healthy.

So I tinkered over the next week and have landed on this recipe that hits all the right marks:

• It is dairy free
• It could easily be adapted to be vegan (sub maple syrup or agave for the honey)
• It is creamy and delicious
• It tastes an awful lot like a real chocolate milkshake
• It is comprised solely of good-for-you ingredients
• Did I mention it's delicious? 

Let me tell you, it has been rough taste testing all these chocolate milkshake prototypes.  But for you guys, hey, I will suffer to bring you great recipes.

One thing you may need to really get the right creamy, frozen texture is a high-speed blender, like a Vitamix or Blendtec.  Which I know not everyone has.  But guess what?  You know how I mentioned a giveaway you wouldn't want to miss?  Well, today you can enter to win a Blendtec!

I've teamed up with my fellow I Heart Nap Time Creative Team members to give away a Blendtec blender, valued at $450, for one of YOU lucky readers! And to celebrate the awesome blender giveaway, we thought we'd give you a whole board full of smoothie (and milkshake!) recipes to choose from. Check out the variety of smoothie recipes below and then enter to win your very own Blendtec blender using the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of the post!

Visit the links below for more smoothie recipes...

1. Your Home Based Mom: Mango Banana Smoothie

2. Kiki Comin: Toasted Coconut Pina Colada Smoothie

3. Bloom Designs: Chocolate Banana Nut Smoothie

4. Love Pomegranate House: Strawberry Sunrise Smoothie

5. Strawberry Mommycakes: Pineapple Mango Smoothie

6. Blooming Homestead: Berry Lemon Smoothie

7. The Girl Inspired: Blended Coffee Drink

8. The Chronicles of Home: Healthy Chocolate Milkshake

9. I Heart Nap Time: Healthy Raspberry Smoothie

10. The Cards We Drew: Banana Peach Strawberry Smoothie

11. Sweet Treats and More: Peanut Butter Smoothie

So many great recipes! Be sure to stop by the blogs above and check out all their fun recipe ideas.

Enter to win the Blendtec Giveaway using the Rafflecopter code below. Note that winners must be 18 or older to win and must reside within the United State. Facebook is in no way affiliated with this giveaway. Giveaway winner will be chosen via Rafflecopter and will be notified via email if they won. They will have 48 hours to respond to the email before a new winner is chosen! Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

And now for that chocolate milkshake recipe.  I may just whip one up after typing up the details for you here!

Healthy Chocolate Milkshakes - makes 4
Ingredients
1 1/2 c. unsweetened almond milk (or any milk you like)
1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tbsp. raw almond butter
1 frozen banana (peel before freezing)
1/4 c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1-2 c. ice

Blend all ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth and the consistency of a milkshake.

p.s. A delicious variation is a strawberry milkshake - sub about a cup of frozen strawberries for the cocoa powder.  So good!

p.p.s. If you're looking for another great smoothie recipe, HERE is my favorite green smoothie, and the one pictured in the collage above.