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Author:
Tracy Nawara
A good morning routine should be pretty consistent. First, make coffee. Second, do yoga. Third, make a smoothie. This all needs to get done before work and chores. This routine gets your mind and body active for the day and leaves you full until lunch.
To consolidate this morning routine, try integrating both coffee and a smoothie into one drink. That leaves more time and energy for other tasks at hand in the morning. Adding coffee to your morning smoothie is a nutritious and healthy way of getting your caffeine and your nutrients, too. This chocolate hazelnut coffee smoothie does the trick!
One of the best ingredients to add to smoothies is rolled oats. Oats add a thick texture to your smoothie and give a more filling aspect to the drink. Use old-fashioned rolled oats for this, as it will lend the best consistency. To keep with the oat flavor, use oat milk and this smoothie is dairy-free! By using gluten-free oats, this smoothie can also be gluten-free! Gluten-free oats also add less gumminess to the drink, but you can use whole grain oats if you have them.
For any smoothie, you’ll need a base ingredient that is creamy and lends to the perfect smoothie consistency. In most recipes, that ingredient is either banana or avocado. In this recipe, bananas add this creamy base that the rest of the ingredients adhere to. It is necessary to freeze your banana before making this smoothie.
Frozen fruit blends very nicely in a high-powered blender. It is what gives that signature smoothie texture when you’re pouring your thick, chocolatey smoothie into your glass. You could add ice if you forgot to freeze your banana, but ice waters down any smoothie with less body and frothiness. The fuller flavor of frozen fruit is much preferred over adding ice to this smoothie.
Perhaps the most important ingredient, or the pièce de résistance, is chocolate hazelnut spread. Sure, this smoothie is already chocolatey from adding chocolate chips, but chocolate hazelnut spread adds a whole new dimension of sweetness and depth to the smoothie. Much like peanut butter, it adds another creamy element that adds so much to the smoothie’s texture.
It may seem redundant to also add chocolate chips to a chocolate hazelnut smoothie. If you are a chocoholic, you’ll know that there can never be too much chocolate. The blended chocolate chips melt in your mouth when sipping, while the spread gets completely incorporated into the smoothie. The two types of chocolate play off of each other and are elevated by the coffee flavor.
When making a coffee smoothie, you want to be sure to taste the coffee itself. Now is not the time for weak, watery coffee. Using a high-quality bold coffee will ensure that this smoothie tastes like it has coffee in it. There are lots of other flavors in this smoothie and you do not want the coffee flavor to get lost. If you can grind your coffee beans before brewing, that’s even better. Strong coffee is the way to go.
This is the perfect smoothie for busy mornings. When you only have time for a shower and a quick yoga practice before work, this drink is a life-saver. Now, you can have your coffee and your smoothie in the same glass with this decadent and dreamy chocolate-hazelnut coffee smoothie.
Freeze your banana the night before. Unpeel and slice your banana into 1-inch rounds and place in a freezer bag. Freeze until solid overnight.
When ready to make your smoothie, brew your coffee. Pour out 1 cup and allow to come to room temperature. You can place the cup of coffee in the fridge to make the process faster.
To your blender, add the oats, oat milk, chocolate chips, and hazelnut spread. Top with frozen banana slices and cooled coffee.
Blend on high or on the smoothie setting until frothy, whipped, and completely smooth.
Top with whipped topping and additional chocolate chips, if desired. Serve immediately.
