Chocolate, Cherry & Banana Green Smoothie

Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

A few days ago while doing an inventory of my canned goods, I noticed four cans of tart cherries staring back at me. Wow. When did I buy those?? I grabbed one and checked the date: getting close to expiration time. I’ve been on a mission to use those cans before the clock strikes midnight on them (what exactly happens on the expiration date anyway? Do they self-destruct? Instantly acquire botulism?) My first recipe was a vegan version of Cauldron and Cupcakes’ Cherry Ripe Slice (I love the name of this recipe. I feel like I could change the words around and it would still make sense. BTW, “slice” means cake. Mmmm, cake.).

Sadly, my attempt didn’t come out quite as expected. Perfectly edible, but not ready for prime time. I encourage you to check out Nicole’s recipe. It looks and sounds wonderful. Still craving chocolate and coconut, I opted to create a smoothie variation (not picture here) of her dessert, the recipe of which is below the Chocolate-Cherry-Banana Smoothie recipe. Two smoothie recipes for the price of one!

You’ll need cacao nibs and cocoa powder for both of these recipes. I use NuNaturals NuStevia White Stevia Powder packets to keep these sugar-free. Their NuStevia Simple Syrup would work nicely, too!

Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

Chocolate Cherry & Banana Green Smoothie
Serves 3
Like a chocolate-covered cherry in a glass - with the added nutritional benefit of spinach.
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247 calories
49 g
0 g
5 g
8 g
4 g
448 g
175 g
23 g
0 g
1 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
448g
Servings
3
Amount Per Serving
Calories 247
Calories from Fat 46
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 5g
8%
Saturated Fat 4g
19%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 0g
Monounsaturated Fat 1g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 175mg
7%
Total Carbohydrates 49g
16%
Dietary Fiber 9g
34%
Sugars 23g
Protein 8g
Vitamin A
250%
Vitamin C
88%
Calcium
18%
Iron
27%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 1 - 1 1/2 cups unsweetened non-dairy milk
  2. 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  3. 2 very ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
  4. 3 Tbsp. powdered unsweetened cocoa or cacao powder
  5. 1 Tbsp. coffee, optional
  6. liquid or powdered stevia (or your favorite sweetener), to taste
  7. 1 15-ounce can pitted, tart cherries (packed in water, not syrup), drained well and frozen (or one 12-ounce bag of frozen sweet cherries)
  8. A big handful of baby spinach or kale
  9. cacao nibs for topping, optional
Instructions
  1. Put everything (except the cacao nibs) in a high-speed blender in the order listed and blend until smooth. It's just that easy. Add more liquid as needed to get the ingredients moving.
  2. Divide smoothie between three glasses and sprinkle with cacao nibs.
Notes
  1. The coffee is optional - - but oh my, it deepens the chocolate flavor!
  2. This is not a low calorie smoothie. To lighten it up, use water instead of non-dairy milk.
beta
calories
247
fat
5g
protein
8g
carbs
49g
more
an unrefined vegan http://www.anunrefinedvegan.com/
Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

Cherry Ripe Slice Smoothie
Serves 4
Cherries and chocolate and coconut...sigh. Go easy on this one - it's calorie-rich!
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Save Recipe
Print
606 calories
46 g
0 g
49 g
10 g
42 g
376 g
99 g
21 g
0 g
3 g
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size
376g
Servings
4
Amount Per Serving
Calories 606
Calories from Fat 406
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 49g
75%
Saturated Fat 42g
212%
Trans Fat 0g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 2g
Cholesterol 0mg
0%
Sodium 99mg
4%
Total Carbohydrates 46g
15%
Dietary Fiber 15g
58%
Sugars 21g
Protein 10g
Vitamin A
187%
Vitamin C
69%
Calcium
14%
Iron
41%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your Daily Values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Ingredients
  1. 1 - 1 1/2 cups unsweetened coconut milk
  2. 1 tsp. coconut or vanilla extract
  3. 2 very ripe bananas, sliced and frozen
  4. 3 Tbsp. powdered unsweetened cocoa
  5. liquid or powdered stevia (or your favorite sweetener), to taste
  6. 1 15-ounce can pitted, tart cherries (packed in water, not syrup), drained well and frozen (or one 12-ounce bag frozen cherries)
  7. A big handful of baby spinach
  8. cacao nibs for topping, optional
  9. toasted unsweetened coconut flakes for topping, optional
Instructions
  1. Put everything (except the cacao nibs and toasted coconut flakes) in a high-speed blender in the order shown and blend until smooth! (If using both frozen bananas and cherries, you will need more liquid to get and keep the mixture moving.)
  2. Divide between four glasses and sprinkle with cacao nibs and toasted coconut flakes.
beta
calories
606
fat
49g
protein
10g
carbs
46g
more
an unrefined vegan http://www.anunrefinedvegan.com/
Sugar-free Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Banana Smoothie by An Unrefined Vegan

 

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57 thoughts on “Chocolate, Cherry & Banana Green Smoothie

  1. thingsmybellylikes

    I put kale in hubby’s smoothies (with a lot of fruit to try and disguise it) never thought of teaming up green veg with chocolate and cherry though – sounds amazing!
    Barb – you can sub in avocados for bananas, they thicken smoothies up nicely 🙂

    Reply
  2. iatelunch

    I might have to omit the spinach since I am hopelessly without a Vitamix, but these look great!

    Reply
      1. iatelunch

        I dunno…my blender is pretty much useless. It’s cracked on the sides and frequently spits at me. It could probably work though. I just sort of shake it around while it’s blending and smack it a few times. High tech, I know.

  3. My Plant Based Family

    I regularly use frozen cherries in smoothies. It hides any leafy greens that didn’t get fully pulverized and had a delicious sweetness.

    Reply
  4. Somer

    Have you ever had a real cherry ripe candy bar? They are Australian and my hubby’s favorite. Her dessert looks crazy awesome. I just looked up the ingredients with a hope and a prayer that they are possibly vegan because they are made with dark chocolate. No such luck, milk and gelatin. Now I get to make your smoothie and come up with a vegan candy confection! Or a cherry ripe mini donut!

    Reply
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      No, but it sounds delicious (candy bar)! I LOVE cherries! Which is why I tried to veganize Nicole’s dessert. I came kinda close…but probably won’t give it another go for a while. I’m liking the sound of a confection, though, Somer! And cherry pie…oh I love that!

      Reply
  5. toxicvegan

    I am yet to brave any greens in my smoothie – tell me you can’t taste them Ann? Tell me??! This sounds gorgeous and I love the flakes on top. I need a food photography master class for sure!
    x

    Reply
    1. An Unrefined Vegan

      Be brave, my dear. I have my hand over my heart as I say this: you will not taste the greens. This is a solemn promise. But – your body will say to you: thank you, thank you!

      Reply
  6. Gabby @ the veggie nook

    Yum- brilliant flavour combination!

    Sometimes I miss having beautifully coloured smoothies when I throw in veggies (which is always lol). But then I give them a taste and remember it doesn’t really matter 🙂

    Reply
  7. Brittany

    I am not the biggest cherry fan. I convinced myself while I was in 3rd grade that I didn’t like cherries because the cool girl didn’t like cherries. Now I really just don’t like them..I psychologically convinced myself they were icky. However, this recipe does sound delicious and I am sure subbing strawberries, or raspberries would taste just as good!

    Reply
  8. tearoomdelights

    That Vitamix of yours is certainly earning its keep! I love cherries too and I would sloosh back your delicious smoothie in an instant. Excellent job with all the social media business!

    Reply
  9. Choc Chip Uru

    This smoothie sounds so tasty – I can imagine if really hitting the spot for brekkie on the go 😀
    Thanks for the links of VVP 🙂

    Cheers
    Choc Chip Uru

    Reply
  10. Richgail Enriquez

    Gotta love chocolate smoothies. I too would find some products hiding in the pantry, if only I could find a way to see them all in one view. Btw, thanks for creating the vvp social medias. I be sure to follow them.

    Reply
  11. unsweetenedcocoa

    THANK YOU for doing all that wonderful stuff for the VVP. I love looking at the Pinterest board–it’s a true smorgasbord. So inspiring.

    These smoothies look lovely! I laughed when I read about your mysterious pile-up of canned cherries. Funny how that happens. I’ve been stockpiling bags of cinnamon like there will be a world shortage of it, I discovered the other day, to my surprise.

    Reply
  12. vegansparkles

    Delicious!! I do believe one or both of these is destined to become my Sunday afternoon snack this week, mmmmmm. Thank you SO MUCH for all the amazing links to the VVP, too! It’s so good to be able to look at them all on one Pinterest board and the FB page is a brilliant idea! xx

    Reply
  13. Sophie33

    What a grand & special smoothy, which I love! Saturday, I received my Vitamix! Yeah! I also bought the dry container to grain my own grains! I can’t wait to try this recipe out!
    I am still learning how to use it! MMMMMM,…!!!

    Reply
  14. Rachel in Veganland

    This looks so luscious! I can’t believe there’s green hidden underneath that chocolate! What a delightful way to sneak in some spinach!

    Reply
  15. infinebalance

    Does all this VVP social media set up mean it’s going to be recurring event? Cuz, it would be really cool if did!!

    Reply
  16. Jocelyn @ Peace.Love.Nutrition

    I just posted my favorite green smoothie recipe today! I’ll have to try yours also

    Reply
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