NibMor Drinking Chocolate Banana Smoothies

I've been sharing with you some of the things I've been making with NibMor's line of organic dark chocolate products.  I wanted to tell you about their drinking chocolate separately from my main NibMor chocolate review, because these are a special treat that even those needing  to avoid chocolate candies due to sugar content can enjoy.

Instead of using cane sugar to sweeten their cocoa blend, it uses organic coconut palm sugar.

What's the difference?  Coconut Palm Sugar is low on the glycemic index (meaning it has a lower effect on glucose, or blood sugar), making it a safer choice for an occasional indulgence for those with diabetes.

Emphasis on occasional - coconut palm sugar is still a carbohydrate, and will still rack up the calories.

For me, I find it to be a far more acceptable substitute for cane sugar than more chemical alternatives, simply in terms of taste.

In addition, NibMor drinking chocolate is dairy-free and works great with non-dairy milks (like coconut), so it's a treat vegetarians can enjoy, too.

With the NibMor drinking chocolate, I actually would have been fine if it'd been a little less sweet than it was - and also found I enjoyed it more when I used more coconut milk than called for. (I'm that way about hot chocolate in general - I like a milder, milkier taste)

I'd received one pouch of each of their three varieties: Traditional, 6-Spice, and Mint.  I enjoyed them all - but the flavored varieties were really interesting. The Mint was like a liquid Thin Mint cookie, and made for a wonderful midafternoon snack, split with my husband.

I was a little confused about the package instructions to be 'sure not to boil' with no guidance on why, so I decided to avoid messing it up and just made some cold chocolate milk with the Mint Drinking Chocolate.

One thing that really impressed me was that with just a bit of whisking, the powder was entirely blended into the coconut milk, leaving no residue either in the mixing cup where I blended it, or in our glass after we'd finished it.  That never happens with previous chocolate drink mixes I've tried.

My favorite flavor was the 6-Spice, and I'll be looking or more of this - in addition to the coconut palm sugar and cacao powder, it has a delightful blend of cayenne, cinnamon, fennel, cloves, star anise, white pepper and sea salt.  The result for me was like an amazing chocolate chai - it wasn't hot, but the spices added a really welcome depth of flavor. This will be the version I seek out to keep in the pantry.

Finally, we decided to put together a smoothie - we haven't done this too often in  the past, because our old blender was...well... sad.  We finally got rid of it and replaced it and this seemed like the perfect creation to try in it.

I say that to say - ignore the ingredient amounts in that picture - we were eyeballing what we put in, and frankly we went a little nuts and wound up with LOT of smoothie. Good thing it was so delicious!

So I'm sort of guessing on  the amounts that would make more sense for smoothies for two, here - but I do recommend putting things in the blender in the order listed (start with the bottom of the list in the picture)

Chocolate Banana Smoothies for 
Two


2 bananas, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
2 cups baby spinach
1 cup plain greek yogurt
1 cup whole milk
1 package NibMor Drinking Chocolate
Ice (optional - will make a frozen drink)

Add each ingredient to the blender in the order listed, ending with ice if desired.

It's fine to vary the ratio of yogurt to milk, depending on your preference - the yogurt will make for a thicker, more tangy smoothie.

Blend, following your blender's recommendations for making smoothies.  If need be, stop the blender to use a spatula on the sides of the blender to completely mix the smoothie.

That's it! Divide into glasses and enjoy!

If you'd like to try NibMor drinking chocolates, they are available for purchase on their website, at select local stores, or through Amazon.

On their website, you can choose from six-pouch sets of any of the three flavors, or a variety package of two of each flavor.

You also still have a couple more days to enter our amazing NibMor Chocolate Experience Giveaway, which includes one pouch of each of the drinking chocolate flavors, along with a TON o other goodies!