A Milkshake That’s as Satisfying as Ice Cream But Leaves You Feeling Much Better

If you’re looking for a healthy chocolate milkshake that hits the sweet spot without the addition of sugar, you’ve just found your fix! This amazingly thick and creamy shake is full of superfood nutrition, only sweetened by dates, and delicious as a shake can be.

I probably don’t need to tell you that cacao is full of antioxidants and other health benefits, but t’s not just the cacao, each ingredient in this shake is a source of vital nutrition. From dates to cinnamon, you’ll load your body up with minerals, vitamins, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory and other health promoting properties.

This is a sweet treat that anybody can enjoy! No sugar spike or crash. Just pure love and steady energy. It can be made vegan or with real milk. It’s up to you! Just be sure to read my notes for choosing the healthiest milk option to meet your preferences.

Cooking Notes

There’s no cooking involved, but there are a few important tips to keep in mind to make the most delicious and nutritious possible milkshake!

The “optional” ingredients are, well, optional. But fun to include if available. If your shake is too thick, just add little more milk when adding the ice.

Serve

• Serve it cold, or even freeze for an hour before serving.
• Best to top with whipped cream and garnishes, just before serving.
• Be sure to garnish with cinnamon!

The Banana

Don’t want to use banana? No problem, swap it out for an avocado!

In either case, you can use room temperature or pre-frozen fruit. For the banana just peel back one side and slice it into chunks. Place in the freezer with the skin so it’s not unnecessarily coming into contact with plastic. For the avocado, if you plan to freeze it, just scoop the meat into a lidded glass container before freezing.

The Dates

You’ll be sadly disappointed if you don’t use high quality Medjool dates. To get the best of the best, order your dates directly from my farmers, the Bautista family in Mecca, CA.

No, I’m not an affiliate, I just want you to get the real experience and see that dates can truly replace all sweeteners in shakes and smoothies. Visit the Bautista Family Website and order “The Best” Medjool dates directly from the farmer!

If you want to shop locally, look for high grade Medjool dates. Lesser date varieties will yield too little sweetness.

The Almonds

If you live in California, you can buy 100% raw almonds at your local farmers’ market. Raw almonds are a powerfully healing food, but the powers that be have rendered access to 100% raw almonds nearly impossible in the US (a long and complicated drama you can read about here>). When you buy any commercially sold almonds, even when labeled “raw”, they are always pasteurized due to these unfair regulations set in motion in 2007.

Farmers can sell truly unpasteurized almonds directly to the consumer. If you are not in CA, what you need to watch out for is what type of pasteurization your almonds have undergone. Look for “steam pasteurized” almonds to avoid buying almonds sprayed with propylene oxide, a fumigant classified as a known carcinogen. I’ve included a viable “steam pasteurized” Amazon vendor link below.

For larger orders, you can buy directly from Bremner Organic Farms for truly unpasteurized almonds!

The Milk

To make this shake extra healthy, use RAW cream and milk! If you live in California you can buy Organic Pastures’ Raw Milk at most farmers’ markets and some health food stores. If you’re in another part of the country check the Real Milk website for local sources.

To make it vegan, taste wise you can use any milk you wish. But watch out for dairy substitutes that contain chemical ingredients like guar gum or carrageen. These ingredients are chemicals. They should not be a part of a regular diet. They’re irritating to the gut and in the long term may cause various health issues.

A good vegan option is New Barn’s Almond Milk. It’s one of very few store bought dairy substitutes made without toxic chemicals, and can be found at your local Whole Foods.

The Whipped Cream

Remember to place a deep bowl and your whisk in the freezer before you get started with making the milkshake. Super cold tools will make beating your cream into peaks a much easier job.

I opted not to add any sweetener to my whipped cream, as the flavor of good cream is a lovely contrast to the sweet and fragrant components in the tart.

Tools & Pantry Shopping List

You’ll need just a couple basic tools and superfoods to make the perfect shake. If you’re a raw foodist, or a foodie, you’ll surely already have these on hand. If you don’t have a professional grade blender, or perhaps you’re looking for an upgrade, consider these:

• Blendtec or Vitamix: I’ve had my Blendtec Wildside for about 7 years now and have used this beast of a blender on a nearly daily basis. It’s still going STRONG! This is a very personal choice, but in either case you need to own one of these for making perfect smoothies, sauces and so much more.
• Coiled Whisk: This Norpro Krona Sauce Master Whisk is the best. I tried both this one and my standard balloon whisk for this small job and the Norpro did a much better job.
• Raw Cacao Nibs (only $7.45 on Thrive!)
• Raw Cacao Powder (only $7.45 on Thrive!)
• Simply Organic Chili Powder (only $3.45 on Thrive!)
• Bautista Organic Medjool Dates: order “The Best” variety directly from the farmer!
• Earth Circle Organics Raw Balinese Cacao Butter only $11.45 for a pound of super high quality cold pressed cocoa butter!
• Spicely Organic Ceylon True Gluten Free Cinnamon
• Wild Soil “Raw” Almonds, Organic and Steam Pasteurized.
• Bremner Organic Farms, truly unpasteurized almonds! $60 minimum.