Breakfast Chocolate Protein Smoothie

Total Time: 10 mins Preparation Time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 banana, ripe & cut into pieces (reserve 3 slices for top garnish if desired)
• 1 cup ice, crushed or 6 -7 large ice cubes
• 1/2-3/4 cup vanilla low-fat greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup strong black coffee, cold (strong recommended, or to taste)
• 1 tablespoon chocolate hazelnut spread or 1 tablespoon other nut butter
• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons artificial sweetener, to taste (2 packets of choice... or non-sugar options)
• 2 tablespoons fat-free whipped topping, top garnish (optional)

Recipe

• 1 place all ingredients in the pitcher of a blender & pulse until ice is cracked into small chunks.
• 2 then blend about a minute or two until smooth (and no ice chunks float to top of the smoothie).
• 3 if any chunks survive to float to top, simply remove them.
• 4 pour into a large tumbler 12 ounce tumbler -- might have a little left over. garnish with fruit and whipped cream if desired.
• 5 note: other fruits can be used by substituting about 1 cup of fruit for the banana. also can add 2t of soluble fiber if more fiber content is desired.