The other day, a friend sent me a picture of a milkshake, reminiscing about all of the milkshakes we drank in college (yeah, they were pretty much a food group in our apartment). So when my boys were looking for a treat on a hot summer afternoon, I decided to make us some milkshakes of our own.

I wanted to make something healthier than the sugar-filled milkshakes that powered me through late nights of studying during my undergrad years, so instead of using ice cream as the cold part of this recipe, I used frozen bananas. The result was still rich and creamy, and I could feel good about serving this to my boys.

Here’s how I made our milkshakes:

Fruit-Sweetened Chocolate Milkshake Recipe

3 frozen Bananas (broken into chunks prior to freezing)
1 Date Roll (or 2 large dates, pits removed)
6 tablespoons Cacao Powder
2 cups Milk (any type, dairy, coconut, almond, etc., will do)
¼ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Ground Vanilla Beans (you can read about them HERE)
1-2 teaspoons Spirulina (optional)

Thoroughly mix all ingredients in a high-powered blender until smooth.

Serve and enjoy.

NOTE: The spirulina adds a bit of healthy greens to the recipe (if I’m not adding spinach, kale or something similar to our smoothies, I almost always add a teaspoon or two of spirulina), but it does have a green taste and it’s definitely not needed. Also, if you want a thicker milkshake (we keep our freezer as cold as it will get; so, for me, three frozen bananas makes for a very thick shake, even if it does melt slightly before I can snap a picture), add a fourth frozen banana in place of the date roll.