Shake? Smoothie? What’s the diff? My extremely brief research (about 23.5 seconds worth of effort) indicated that a shake is more about ice cream whereas a smoothie is more about fruit. So there’s probably some grey area in there, but that’s not our issue as this Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Shake is clearly a smoothie. That was developed from a shake. And could easily be made back into a shake using coconut ice cream.
Anyway, when I was younger I used to drink a lot of milkshakes (I don’t like the taste of milk so I’d have to jazz it up) and my favorite was peanut butter chocolate banana. That saltiness from the peanut butter really hooked me. Wait, let me back up a bit. beep, beep, beep When I was a kid I didn’t eat much and my parents would make me milkshakes in desperation to get some calories into me. I think that I’ve more than made up for those calories since then, but I still love a good shake (there were a lot of ways I coulda gone with that link: a twerking clip – really? A twerk workout?? Oh, a “twerk-out”. Of course. I think that is a class full of strippers. —Or a clip from Ellen with a Shake Weight; and if you haven’t seen all the clips of her show with the Shake Weight, I encourage you to explore YouTube for the next half hour or so… —But I like the energy of the MercyMe song I chose. Even if this Ying Yang Twins’ Shake is more likely to get me dancing in the kitchen. —Lotsa links today… Wait! One more! I know there was a lot of sexualized women in some of those links, but I think this one will make up for it. You are gonna laugh. And be amazed at the same time. I don’t have enough ass to even pretend I could do this – and no, I didn’t try!).
Please note that these links do not seem to work on mobile YouTube apps, but they will work on mobile browsers and computers
Back to milkshakes (weird that I didn’t include a link to Kelis’ “My Milkshake Brings All the Boys to the Yard”): did anyone ever try the White Spot peanut butter bacon shake a while back when they were trialing things? I did. Loved it. Except that it would have been better is they’d used softer bacon. Right. Where was I? Oh yeah: banana, chocolate, and peanut butter were magical together. If you’re looking for a cheat, that’s a nice one.
So obviously I needed a Paleo equivalent. This is actually my go-to quick meal if I don’t have time to make an omelet or whatever. I add spinach to most of my smoothies now, which doesn’t make it look that great, but they still taste fantastic. Sometimes I’ll add chocolate protein powder (I’ve read and participated in a few debates about protein powders but I’m not going to touch on that today).
I have just wasted the last hour and a half watching Ellen videos on YouTube. It’s a good thing I saved you so much time on this recipe since I just ate up your whole day in YouTube Land. I just thought of another YouTube link that will take you down another hilarious and educational path, but I’ll resist sharing that today. But know that it’s coming.

Chocolate Banana Almond Butter Shake
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond or coconut milk
- 1 heaping Tbsp almond butter
- 1 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1 banana (fresh or frozen)
- 1/4–1/2 cup spinach
- 1 pinch salt
- 1 pinch chili
optional
- 1/2 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 scoop chocolate protein powder
Instructions
- Blend all ingredients together in blender (love my Magic Bullet).
And, we add some ginger, cinnamon and tumeric to the mix. Oh,oh. The magic bullet smoked (literally) yesterday, so I am not looking forward to making the smoothie this morning!
The links finally worked for me (on my laptop, but not the iPad). Wow…that last video…just. wow. The kid’s got skills…haha!
What kind of chili do you suggest to use? Just red chili powder? Or something specific?
Ugh! I don’t know why those links didn’t work on mobile YouTube apps. They do work in mobile browsers and on computers.
Just a sprinkle of chili powder.
Also tried it with coconut blended into the smoothie…yum!
Like shredded coconut? Nice!