This Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake is rich, creamy and nutritious. It will satisfy your sweet tooth without leaving you feeling heavy and sluggish!
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I Feel Great After Eating Plant-Based Desserts!
Wanna know one my favorite things about eating a plant-based diet?
You can eat decadent desserts and not feel sluggish or heavy! And then you can go back for seconds!
Seriously. This Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake is just one example of a simple, plant-based dessert that is so rich and creamy, yet leaves you feeling satisfied and light.
Go ahead. Indulge!
Just yesterday I came across an article called "What 2,000 Calories Looks Like" from The New York Times. The article shows how easy it is to eat 2,000 calories at a lot of the major American restaurant chains. One of the more shocking examples of 2,000 calories was from a single Sonic shake! Yes, the Peanut Butter Caramel Pie Shake contains 2,090 calories! Gosh, I used to LOVE sonic shakes! Whoops. I'm sure that you'd have to order the largest size possible to drink that many calories, but reading that article just made me that much more grateful that I've discovered easy ways to enjoy delicious treats without reaching my daily caloric needs in one siting...AND I'm getting a lot more nutrients too!
Is This Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake Healthy?
I usually don't look up the nutritional value of my recipes, but after reading that article, I was curious how my Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake would compare. Turns out 1 serving of this homemade shake is only 277 calories! And you'll get almost 8 grams of fiber and 3 grams of protein too.
Now that's my kind of dessert!
Desserts are one of the main things that caused me to vegan in the first place. I used to (and still do) have such a sweet tooth. I could eat a piece of those Costco sheet cakes--you know, the ones that make your tongue tingly from all the sugar--no sweat. But afterwards my stomach would start to hurt and I'd feel weighted down and sluggish. I remember how I'd often complain to Brett about how uncomfortable my stomach felt after eating certain foods and how I shouldn't have had "that dessert".
The first few weeks after switching to a plant-based diet were hardest in regards to sweets. I didn't know how to cook egg-free and dairy-free desserts for myself so I found myself caving in and eating the desserts I knew would hurt my stomach. But after a few more stomach aches and head rushes from all the white sugar I said enough is enough.
That's when the dessert experimenting began.
I knew I needed to find some healthy, vegan desserts ASAP. Ones that would satisfy my sweet tooth without all of the horrible side-effects I was used to experiencing.
Staple Vegan Dessert Ingredients
Thankfully, creating vegan desserts is no longer hard or overwhelming. There are so many simple ways to whip up a healthy plant-based dessert.
Dates, maple syrup, and bananas are three of my favorite ingredients to use to add sweetness.
Cacao powder (or cocoa powder) gives desserts rich, chocolate flavor.
Nuts and oats can easily be ground down into flour to add protein and healthy fats to recipes.
Chia seeds provide thickness and texture.
And avocados are the perfect way to add creaminess and fiber to puddings!
Or simply sip on some yummy chocolate oat milk!
It makes my heart so happy to know I'm filling my body with tons of nutrition when I'm eating a plant-based dessert.
Oh, and my tongue is left happy too.
Ingredients in this Dairy Free Chocolate Milkshake
So, you wanna know what's in this delicious Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake? Lemme tell you.
- Frozen Bananas
- Cacao Powder
- Medjool Dates
- Homemade Almond Milk
- Cacao Nibs
Yeah, pretty incredible isn't it?!
Then top everything off with some Homemade Coconut Milk Whipped Cream and more cacao nibs and you'll be in healthy dessert heaven.
I hope you guys try out this Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake! Let me know what you think by leaving a rating and review in the recipe card!
📖 Recipe
Healthy Dairy-Free Chocolate Shake
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3 bananas previously sliced and frozen
- 1 ½ cups Homemade Almond Milk
- ¼ cup cacao powder*
- 4 pitted medjool dates
- 2 tablespoons cacao nibs
TOPPINGS:
Instructions
- Place the frozen bananas, almond milk, cacao powder and medjool dates into a high powered blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the 2 tablespoons of cacao nibs.
- Divide among 3 glasses and then top each serving with coconut milk whipped cream and more cacao nibs.
- Enjoy!
Nicole @ Fitful Focus says
Banana "milk" shakes are one of my favorite things. This looks especially delicious!
Faith says
Aren't they amazing?! Thanks for saying "hi" Nicole!
Anna-Marie @BeautyandtheBeets says
HI! You had me at Chocolate Shake. I have never thought of putting dates into a shake- how inventive. I am putting this on my list of eats for this week. Thank you
Faith says
It's my new favorite! And the dates make it a little more special;) I hope you like it Anna Marie--Let me know what you think!
Liz @ I Heart Vegetables says
I love making shakes with bananas! It's crazy how delicious they are! I've never tried adding dates but I bet they really help with the sweetness. YUM!
Faith says
Seriously! Bananas usually make smoothies sweet enough for me, but I love adding them to banana based smoothies if I want something extra sweet...like a shake!