I love a good banana shake. I must have tried a thousand of them over the years. So, when I wanted to add one to the menu of the cafe, I was pretty picky. I wanted something that tasted good but wasn’t overly sweet. I wanted the banana and vanilla flavors to really shine through.

Since I was using fresh bananas, I wanted them to be the ripest, sweetest ones I could find. I use a banana or two (depending on size), one cup of vanilla almond milk, 3/4 cup of ice, 3/4 cup of milk, 1/4 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt, 2 tbl of almond milk creamer, 1 tbl of cocoa powder, 1/2 tsp of cinnamon, 1/4 tsp of nutmeg, and 1/8 tsp of ground cloves. For the Oreo shake, I add 1/2 cup of nonfat plain greek yogurt. That’s it! So simple and so good.

It’s a simple recipe, but that’s the best part. Fresh ingredients make a huge difference. The bananas, vanilla, and cocoa are such a great combo.

Ingredients

• 1 frozen banana
• 1/2 cup cold coffee (or 1/2 cup cold water + 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee)
• 1/2 cup vanilla ice cream
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup crushed Oreos
• 1/4 cup blueberries
• 1/4 cup ice

Instructions

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.