Choco-chai shake

It's the first day of spring! And the start of vegan MoFo, in which I'm very excited to be participating!

I seriously love spring. Because it means the hot weather is right around the corner. Late sunsets. Lunch breaks in the sun. Lazy weekends at the beach. Warm nights. And of course....mangos. Hooray.

While we wait for mango season, it's time to stuff ourselves with as much winter fruit as we can. Mandarins, grapes, pears, oranges, kiwis, and apples. And of course the humble banana.

I heart bananas. I could eat them every day. Actually, I do eat them every day in various forms - smoothies, "ice cream", fruit pudding, or just straight out of the peel.

I'm going to kick start vegan MoFo with my kickstart for the day - a chocolate chai shake. It's sweet, spicy, and creamy. Kind of a cross between a chai latte and a chocolate milkshake. I used to be seriously addicted to chai lattes, but that little habit can get expensive. And some places use those chai mixes, which are probably not healthy anyway. With this shake, I can get my chocolate and chai fix using basic ingredients from home. 

You'll need:

4 bananas

A heaping tablespoon of carob powder

A teaspoon of ground cinnamon

A teaspoon of ground cardamom*

Vanilla (optional)

Water

* you can grind your own cardamom or you can buy it pre-ground. If you have a high speed blender, you can throw the whole seeds in without grinding  (DO NOT throw the pods in, make sure you open the pods and extract the seeds). Please don't omit the cardamom because it really punches up the flavour of this drink.

Directions:

Put the bananas and spices into a blender, and then add water. Use enough water so that around half the bananas/spices are submerged. Blend until smooth and any whole spices are ground. Add vanilla (if using) and give a quick blend to combine.

The consistency should be somewhere between thick and thin. Whatever you prefer, really.

This recipe made one litre of shake. Perfect for a snack, or if you want a meal-sized shake you can double or triple the amounts. 

Throw in some whole ice cubes, if you like. And head outside with a hat and a good book, and dream of summer!

Happy Father's Day to all dads!!