Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

I love to try new things, and when Kristi and I wandered through the Natural Foods section of Stop & Shop yesterday, I saw something that I just had to experiment with - chocolate hemp milk.

Hemp milk is made using the seeds of the hemp plant. It's a delicious alternative for vegans, since they do not consume dairy products. The Global Healing Center explains the benefits of choosing hemp milk, including lots of Omega-3 and -6 fatty acids, protein, potassium, and tons of vitamins and minerals. They also have directions for making your own organic hemp milk, which is definitely a step farther than I'm interested in going at this time.

I made an amazing smoothie with the chocolate hemp milk - you could definitely use regular milk, chocolate milk, chocolate soy milk, etc. to get a very similar effect.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie

1 banana, cut into chunks and frozen

1 tbsp. peanut butter

1/2 c. chocolate hemp milk

Blend all ingredients until smooth. If mixture is too thick, add more chocolate milk. If mixture is too thin, add banana or ice cubes.

This smoothie is so decadent - it would be great for dessert or as a meal replacement. The chocolate hemp milk and peanut butter make it rich and creamy, and the fresh banana flavor prevents it from being too sweet. If you aren't feeling adventurous enough to try chocolate hemp milk, definitely make the smoothie with your own favorite kind of chocolate milk.