andrew.pilsch.com

I’ve been on the road the last few days going to a wedding in Tennessee. When on the road, I tend to rely on Starbucks for both caffeine and treats (because I can’t brew coffee and Shawna can’t bake). During this trip, we both decided that we’re crazy about Starbucks’s new Banana Chocolate Vivanno}&strAction=GETDEFAULT&x=27&y=6. In the Starbucks in Harrisonburg, VA, I watched the “barista” make my drink and thought “well, that wasn’t worth the 4 bucks I just paid.” Essentially, the recipe is one banana, some milk (he eyeballed it), a cup of ice, three tablespoons of whey protein, and a few squirts of chocolate syrup. I decided that I could make this delicious drink at home and save some money.

First thing I did was search around for a bittersweet chocolate syrup recipe. This one looked promising. Secondly, I did a search to see if anyone else was thinking along these same lines. This answer on Yahoo! Answers suggested a similar method to the one I’d observed. So, this morning, I got out the trusty blender and went to work. In a word: delicious.

We deviated from the Starbucks recipe because we were out of some stuff: primarily, we substituted wheat germ for whey powder (because I find the idea of whey powder objectionable), which gave the drink a more pronounced grain flavor that was pleasant. Additionally, because Shawna and I usually add a shot of espresso anyway, we dissolved some espresso powder in the drink to give it a yummy coffee richness that really enhanced the chocolate flavor.

Banana Chocolate Shake

Yield: 1 drink

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup 2% milk (we used 1% plus cream)


• 1 cup ice cubes


• 1 1/2 T bittersweet chocolate syrup


• 1 banana, broken up into a few chunks


• 1 1/2 t wheat germ


• 1/2 t espresso powder

Method:

1. In a blender, mix the banana, milk, and wheat germ on the highest setting (ours was “liquefy”) until smooth.


2. Add ice, espresso powder, and chocolate syrup. Blend until smooth (using ice crush setting, if available, to break up the ice and then move to a medium setting).

Notes:

• The drink seemed a little thinner than the one we get at Starbucks. You might try experimenting with milk levels a little to fix the thickness.

Image Credit: olha a banana! by .mands.