Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Happy Valentine’s Day!

I had originally planned to leave work early today so that Isaac and I could go on a guided tour of a wedding venue this afternoon, but my boss is amazing and convinced me just to take the whole day off. She definitely didn’t have to twist my arm on this one. And I’m glad I did because the day is already off to a great start.

Nothing is better than waking up to birthday flowers.

I love the arrangement that Isaac got me this year. So colorful and pretty. <– wedding bouquet inspiration.

Isaac got ready early and took me to Lamplighter to grab coffee before he headed to work. Lightlighter has unsweetened almond milk and I’m in love with their almond milk lattes. So good!

After coffee I came home, put in a load of laundry, swiffered the hardwood floors (even under our bed) and then made myself a strawberry banana protein pancake for breakfast. The cleaning part isn’t very birthdayish but I like to clean for things to be clean so it works for me.

The pancake had:

• 1/3 cup egg whites
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (I use brown rice protein powder)
• 1 teaspoon chia seeds
• dash of cinnamon
• 1/2 banana, mashed
• strawberry, chopped

A little later this morning I’m going to get my nails done with Isaac’s mom, stopping by Isaac’s school to deliver some Valentine’s Day cards, working out, going on the venue tour and then coming home to make dinner with Isaac. Definitely a busy, but lovely day.

Since nothing says Valentine’s Day better than strawberries and chocolate I have a tasty smoothie recipe to to share with you all today. Whip out your blender and make one for yourself (or for your Valentine) and fall in love…

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Smoothie

Using this Weight Loss Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie from Driscoll’s as I guide, I created a vegan smoothie with two of my favorite things – strawberries and chocolate. It’s the perfect way to indulge in a chocolate treat this Valentine’s Day.

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh organic strawberries
• 1/2 frozen banana
• 1 Tablespoon protein powder (I used Sunwarrior Natural)
• 1 Tablespoon raw cacao powder or cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
• 2 pitted dates
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 4-5 cubes of ice
• 2 drops of stevia to sweeten (optional)

Preparation

1. Place strawberries, banana, protein powder, cacao powder, almond milk, dates, vanilla and stevia in blender and blend until fruit is pureed and ingredients are well mixed.
2. Add ice and blend until smooth.

Driscoll’s sent me a few coupons for their berries so that I could test out some of their recipes. Accepting the coupons was a no-brainer because I love their berries and buy them all the time.

As you can tell, I love Valentine’s Day!

But even if you’re not a big fan of February 14th, I bet this Tone It up Valentine’s Day workout will put you in a good mood.

Tagged as: Chocolate Strawberry Smoothie, strawberries