Smoothie of The Day: Chocolate Avocado with Immunity Boosting Superfoods

This Chocolate Avocado Smoothie by Hannah Sunderani is creamy and nourishing. Hannah is a plant-based recipe developer who makes mouth-watering meals and lots of healthy lunches, who shared her delicious smoothie recipe with The Beet. It's made with spinach, banana, avocado, cocoa powder, and hemp hearts resulting in a wholesome smoothie that is nutrient-rich.

The combination of banana and avocado will make you feel that good kind of full since they are both healthy fats. I like to call this smoothie sneaky because it tastes like a milkshake dessert but contains spinach and avocado--two healthy greens. The banana and avocado allow you to disguise even more greens in this smoothie like kale, swiss chard, or celery, and you even won't taste them!

When it comes to staying healthy, this recipe contains hemp hearts. The Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acids in these seeds have the "ability to affect the immune system by producing immunosuppressive effects." And, hemp seeds actually taste delicious on their own and make a healthy nutritious snack.

Why it's healthier: Avocados have more potassium than a banana: One avocado has 15% of the daily recommended potassium 4.7g, which is more than one and a half large bananas.

Healthy ingredients: Folate, magnesium, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin C.

Here's a note from Hannah:
"If you prefer to use protein powder over hemp hearts, I recommend using a clean plant-based protein powder. Check the back of the ingredient list to make sure it’s simple and minimalist. (They’re often filled with aspartame and fillers).
You may notice this recipe is a little less sweet as a result of not using protein powder. But it helps to nip those sugar cravings in the bud! The banana helps to nicely sweeten the smoothie. However, if you really find you need a sweeter smoothie to try adding 1/2 more banana or 1/4 cup mango."

Nutrition information is a rough estimate.

Calories 476 Total Fat 32.4 g Sat. Fat 6.1 g Sodium 25 mg Total Carbs 44.8 g Fiber 15.2 g Sugars 16.1 g Protein 13.4 g