Java Chip Smoothie Experiment #1

So yes, this totally goes against all things healthy, but the other day I came across a recipe for a Java Chip Smoothie on my Pinterest account, and I do love some coffee! So I decided to go ahead and try it anyways and just add a super workout afterwards to make up for it.  After making it and bringing it up to the shop for a test taste, we realized it was not a very good smoothie.  When I made the original recipe, I had to add a bit of almond milk to it just to get it to blend before I could go any further with the recipe!  And it tasted quite powdery for my liking.  So I decided to opt for my own version on the second go round.  And I was much happier with the result.  My husband wasn't a fan, but I liked it.  Perhaps a bit less protein powder next time and he'll like it too.  I wanted to share, so here's how I did it. First I gathered up my ingredients.

Ingredients
2 Handfuls Dark Chocolate Chips
2/3 c. Greek Honey Yogurt
1 c. Dark Organic Coffee (and I mean DARK)
1 c. Non-Flavored Almond Milk
1/3 c. Cream of Coconut Milk
1 tsp. Vanilla Extract
2 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder
1/2 heaping tsp. Organic Hemp Powder

Directions
I started by brewing up some coffee!  And while I was waiting for the water to boil I chopped up my chocolate chips into smaller pieces as I knew that my blender wouldn't do as good of a job as I could do by hand.  Once the coffee was brewed and cooled off a bit, I put it in the blender with the chocolate chips and pulsed it a few times.  Then I carefully opened my can of coconut milk making sure not to shake it.  Most of the other coconut milks I have gotten are pretty creamy all the way through, but the Taste of Thai brand tends to separate and deposit the cream at the top of the can (the way I like it) as long as you don't shake it up.  I gathered up about a third of a cup of the creamy top and added it to the blender, along with the rest of the ingredients, and blended until smooth!  And voila!

I was really happy with the turnout.  It was a lot smoother and drinkable, unlike the original version of the recipe I found that you really had to eat with a spoon.  Next time I am going to try adding frozen coffee cubes, which are already in the freezer just for this purpose. In total it made 2 and a half glasses (the ones pictured).

After drinking it I had plenty of energy and decided to go do a workout!!!  Yay for motivation... and coffee!