the vegan/gluten free cleanse business..

Last week the husband and I went to Aux Vivres, a great vegetarian and sometimes vegan restaurant here in Montreal.  Usually, because of our strict budget, we stick to a entree, no drinks or desserts or sides.  But... what Aux Vivres features prominently in their cafe is their smoothie menu.  The husband and I have been on our cleanse for, what, two weeks now?  Or is it a week?  (Hopefully two weeks).  And since I have been craving sugar mostly, and he's craved chocolate mostly, we decided to splurge and split the curious "chocolate smoothie."  Luckily for us, they list all the ingredients on their menu which includes: cocoa powder, coconut/soy milk, dates, and flax seed protein.  Since we didn't really want to pay the $4.50 all the time to get a quick non-sugar fix, I decided to experiment on the smoothie at home, and I believe we've hit something relatively close to home!  Why dates you ask?  Well, in order to stay within the perimeters of the cleanse, one must stay away from using sugar.  So by blending up dates, you are naturally sweetening the smoothie without cheating.  I suppose, if you don't want to buy dates, you could try using agave nectar or some other natural sweetener, but I haven't tried it that way.  I bought the dates.  This recipe is slightly different, mainly because I ran out of coconut milk and I have no idea what flax seed protein is.  So here is our rendition!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

Chocolate Peanut Butter Smoothie

{adapted from here}

1 cup // soy milk or coconut milk (or you can do a mixture of both)
4 dates // seeded and sliced
1 banana // slightly frozen or just cold
2 tablespoons // cocoa powder
1 tablespoon // peanut butter, or almond butter
1 teaspoon // vanilla extract (you can add up to 1 tablespoon if you'd like)
5 // ice cubes

serving, totally optional:
1 dollop // thickened coconut milk (an easy fix is to open a can of coconut milk and leave it uncovered in the fridge overnight. then, the next day, give it a whip!)

First blend the milk, dates, cocoa powder, peanut butter and vanilla until completely smooth and there are no date pieces left.  This may take awhile as the dates tend to stay beneath the blade, so make sure to stop and swirl the blender every once in awhile, making sure the dates are getting cut. Then add the banana and ice and blend just until your shake is smooth.  Serve and enjoy.  If this weren't vegan/gluten free, I would say to add a dollop of whip cream.  So instead, add a dollop of coconut cream!

Hope you guys like it!  Don't worry.  Just give me a few weeks and I'll be posting the usual unhealthy recipes you're used to finding on here =)