Today’s Simple in 7 recipe was inspired by the holidays and questions from your emails about how to stay happy, energized, and joyful during the holiday season- even good stress is still stress and many experience holidays differently. Here’s my answer to your question about how to keep your mood up, say hello to this Mood Boosting Cocoa Smoothie and using food as medicine.
“In this new series, I share simple recipes using less than 7 ingredients in under 7 minutes! What you can expect from these recipes are short and sweet recipe how-to’s.”
I teamed up with the Community Coffee to give this Mood Boosting Cocoa Smoothie a little kick by using their Breakfast Blend coffee, although, trust me you won’t run out of options with their flavors some of them being fun ones like Holiday Jazz! There’s something about the ritual of making coffee, the smell, the pouring of boiling water into a french press, or hearing the slow drip of the coffee machine. If you remember, I love coffee although I’m quite sensitive to the caffeine, so if you’re anything like me having a little coffee in this smoothie blends beautifully with the other ingredients and doesn’t give you as quick of a “caffeine rush” as when drinking it solo- either way, it’s delicious and added bonus that Community Coffee also makes decaf if that’s your thing. I hope you give this smoothie a go with this coffee, they have a great mission giving back to the farmers they work with and giving back to the community, hence the name (!), and are the largest family owned coffee company in the US. You can learn more about them, their technique and amazing story here. So cheers to a mood boosting smoothie with healthy fats from chia seeds, a kick of protein, and carbohydrates all to keep your energy and blood sugars stable and happy.
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup blueberries
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder
- 1 cup almond milk
- 2 tablespoons chia seed
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder, optional
- 1/2 cup freshly brewed Community Coffee, chilled or add ice to smoothie
- Blend all ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Adjust sweetness by adding 1 pitted date, honey, or stevia to taste. Add 1 cup of water to thin to desired texture, I add about 1/2 cup.
- Enjoy cold and immediately or re-blend before serving and only keep for 2 days.
THOUGHTS?
What foods boost your mood? Let me know what you think when you give this recipe a go! Leave a comment and rate it, rating helps me continue to improve recipes for you. I love seeing what you come up with so don’t forget to take a picture and tag it #nutritionstripped on Instagram!
Low mood and motivation keeping your from reaching your goals? I coach 1-1 with women to help optimize your health, reach goals, feel and look amazing! Sign up here to chat with me about how we can work together and take the first step to make this your healthiest and happiest year yet.
xx McKel
I partnered with Community Coffee for this recipe, a company who I enjoy using their products and hope you do as well; all opinions are my own.
