Guilt free chocolate-banana thickshake

This delicious chocolate-banana thickshake is so easy to make it's ridiculous, and it's completely sugar and guilt free. Great for using up over-ripe bananas, this drink is my go-to treat for Madeleine when I want to give her something sweet that is also nutritious. Last night Madeleine came home from daycare sweaty and exhausted but hyped-up (as is so often the case), and not keen for her dinner. I'm never too worried when this happens because she always seems to eat more at daycare than she does at home, but I do need her to have something in her stomach before bed time or she'll wake in the middle of the night, hungry (one baby doing that is enough, thank you). So I made her this thickshake, first seen on the blog Traveling Sheep, and it went down a treat.

Next time you have over-ripe bananas sitting in your fruit bowl, skip the banana bread and, instead, peel the bananas and pop them into the freezer in individual zip-lock bags. Then when you're ready, you can whip up this sweet, healthy thickshake in one minute. It's just as good for the grown-ups as for the kids!

Ingredients:

1 x frozen banana 1-2 x cups milk 1-2 x teaspoons cocoa powder

Method:

Throw everything in a blender and wizz until it's thick but lump-free and frothy. For extra points with the little ones, serve it up with a colourful or bendy straw.

If you wanted to go dairy free, I reckon soy milk would make it extra creamy and quite delicious. I also think you could add a splash of vanilla or substitute the milk for coconut milk (or half half) to make it extra decadent. Add other frozen fruits, like passionfruit or berries, for a different flavour. Just ensure your frozen base is a super sweet fruit, like banana or mango, then go to town!