This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of CocoaVia® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.
Attention all chocolate lovers! You can have your Chocolate Cake and eat it too! In a shake form that is. You can even have this tasty treat every day and also be doing your body good.
I have been on a serious health kick lately. But that doesn’t mean that my sweet tooth has disappeared. I have been very conscious about what I have been eating and I have found a recipe that is delicious and fits into my routine.
I am sure you already know chocolate has some health benefits, but did you know that’s not the case for all chocolate? An ingredient called flavanols, derived from cocoa beans, are what make chocolate healthy. However, the health benefits of the flavanols are sometimes lost through heat and humidity damage. A large misconception is that it depends on the percentage of cocoa or that it needs to be dark chocolate.
Cocoa Flavanols are powerful phytonutrients, or plant-based nutrients, naturally found in cocoa beans. Studies have shown that after consuming a cocoa product that contains flavanols, it enters your blood stream and starts to support:
- Cardiovascular/circulatory system
- Cognitive health
- Skin health
- Blood flow
- Exercise performance
So how can you enjoy the delicious taste of chocolate and know that you are getting the benefits of flavanols? The answer is from CocoaVia®, a daily cocoa extract supplement. It comes in two forms: a vegetarian capsule, or powder sticks that come in either chocolate or fruit flavors. It makes is super convenient and so tasty when added to protein shakes, oatmeal, coffee, yogurt and much, much more.
I personally love the chocolate powder stick that I have incorporated in my Healthy Chocolate Cake Batter Shake. You might be surprised at some of my ingredients, but believe me, it makes this shake so creamy and thick and you can’t taste the cottage cheese whatsoever.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1/4 cup skim milk
- 1 packet sweetened CocoaVia®
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 2 tbsp fat free hot fudge
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- sprinkles
- 5 ice cubes
Directions
Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more ice cubes if needed for thickness, or add more milk if too thick. Take glasses and spread a thin layer of fudge in the rim. Pour some sprinkles on a plate and turn the glass upside down onto the sprinkles to stick to the fudge. Lastly, pour the shake into the glass and serve immediately.
You can find CocoaVia® on the shelves and online. Online at Cocoavia.com and Amazon.com. In stores: Vitamin World, King Soopers, Fred Meyer, Wegman’s Harris Teeter, GNC, Kroger and natural food retailers. Here you can find a store closest to you
My Thirty Spot readers get a a special discount code for 20% off their entire purchase. Code ChocLovers20. (limit one per customer and not valid on cases. Expires 9/30/2014.)
For even more information Recipes and Benefits here.
Now you can enter to win a month’s supply of CocoaVia® capsules and a box of CocoaVia® dark chocolate and fruit flavored stick packs.
melanie borhi says
Fat burner brownies
Kelsey says
That looks so yummy! I’m a sucker for anything that has those sprinkles. haha