Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie (From The Inside Scoop)

So... it occurred to me.  Granted...occurred very slllloooowwwllllyyy (because I'm a little short on both sleep and coffee at the moment), but now that our precious baby The Inside Scoop is closed... I have a crap-load of recipes from our restaurant that I could share with the world.  We've shared a few previously, but this seems like a good venue to share them with (plus I already have pretty promo shots that I took of them for our menus and social media, so DOUBLE easy!)

If you're new to reading this blog--a few years ago my husband & I decided to buy a little seasonal ice cream shop in our city, to run as a "side business" in addition to our full time jobs.  We naively had no idea how much time, effort, and work would be needed to undertake such a task, and the first season was full of learning experiences, tears, and eating our emotions.  But after that we finally got a handle on things.  It still ended up being too much for us as a "side business" and since we couldn't give it the attention it really needed in order to thrive without one of us quitting our jobs, we decided to sell it in October 2014.  It was a wonderful experience and we learned a lot those years (examples include "Breaking into the breakfast market is next to impossible with an ice cream cone on your sign").  

We primarily served ice cream & shakes, but also made custom smoothies, a variety of sandwiches, and some delicious Nathan's Famous hot dogs with a diverse array of toppings.

This smoothie was probably one of my favorites...which is surprising, since I usually hate anything raspberry.  This was one of the last Specials of the Month that we ran (September 2014, I believe).  In the restaurant biz, you run specials on whatever you have too much of or need to get rid of, and we had a surplus of raspberries at the time.  And of course, customer service is all about what the CUSTOMER likes, not what I like, and I know there are some weirdos people out there who think raspberries are delightful.  So, we concocted this.  And...in this case, those weirdos were right.

This smoothie can either be a great breakfast (about 280 calories, 17g of protein, 9g of fiber) or a delicious low-guilt dessert replacement.  If the calories feel like too much for a snack, split it in half & save 8oz or share with a friend!

INGREDIENTS: (Makes 1 16-oz smoothie)
1 cup frozen raspberries
4 oz vanilla greek yogurt
4 oz skim milk (soy or almond milk also work well)
2 Tbsp hot cocoa mix (we used milk chocolate, but I think dark chocolate mix would also go great in this)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine all ingredients in blender--mix on High or Ice Crush until well combined and fruit is thoroughly integrated.

NUTRIFACTS:

Calories		276.5
Total Fat		3.1 g
	Saturated Fat	2.1 g
	Polyunsaturated Fat	0.0 g
	Monounsaturated Fat	0.1 g
Cholesterol		2.5 mg
Sodium		271.5 mg
Potassium		401.0 mg
Total Carbohydrate		47.1 g
	Dietary Fiber	9.0 g
	Sugars	32.7 g
Protein		17.2 g