Current obsession: Maca + cacao smoothies

I bought some maca powder at Whole Foods a while back after reading about it but then didn't use it for a couple months. Last week I finally decided to break it open. So glad I did!!!! Officially obsessed. I started by putting it in my oatmeal, along with bananas or raspberries, pecans, shredded coconut, soy milk and some cinnamon - DELICIOUS!! I love the mild, nutty flavor - some people describe it as similar to butterscotch, which I would agree with.

I kept reading conflicting articles about whether it should be eaten raw or cooked and I finally decided to just start putting it on things, specifically oatmeal and smoothies.

I also bought some cacao powder after reading about how much better it is than cocoa powder -it is raw, whereas cocoa powder has been roasted and loses health benefits in the process - and didn't do much with that for a while either. But now that I have discovered maca + cacao in smoothies, it is ON!

Yesterday I made my first smoothie with maca, which I found on pinterest. Holy chocolate ecstasy!

this is the photo from 40aprons

I didn't follow the recipe exactly - here's what I used:

• 1 ripe banana, peeled
• 1 tsp flax seed ( I always add flax but it's not necessary)
• ⅔ cup frozen raspberries
• ¾ cup soy milk
• handful of raw almonds
• 1 tablespoon maca powder
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder

Blended in the Blendtec. Oh how I love my Blendtec. This smoothie though.... OhMyGodYouGuys. So thick, smooth, chocolatey, and so guilt free. I tried a variation on it today without the raspberries, just more banana, some of it frozen.  I always keep some chunks of peeled banana in the freezer for smoothies - so easy, and our bananas never go bad. Plus I like my smoothies cold, without a lot of added ice, and frozen banana does the trick.

I also added protein powder today, and it did not compromise the deliciousness at all, so I'll definitely be making these as protein smoothies from now on! We buy unflavored whey protein. 

So, voila my latest obsession! Can't recommend highly enough trying some maca and cacao powders in your smoothies (or oatmeal). Sooo delicious, and good for you too!

Read about cacao versus cocoa here

And be sure to let me know of any other favorite uses you have for maca or cacao! I'd love to expand my repertoire!