Starbucks Chocolate Banana Smoothie

So Starbucks has their whole 'treat receipt promotion' going on where I can get a cold drink after 2 pm for $2 if I get my morning tea!? When I first heard this at the beginning of summer, I thought it was the greatest deal ever! Now they're freakin' robbing me penniless LOL! If I run into a Starbucks in the morning, I'll usually get my regular tea for on-the-go, and then when they offer me my treat receipt, it's like, "Okay...$2 is a great deal...why not!?" So instead of spending $2 most days for coffee or tea, I'm now spending $4 (and that doesn't include the HST!) I guess I really gotta stop going for my coffee/tea in the morning to resist this temptation...

I'm yakkin'. Onward with the recipe! I never go for frappuccinos at Starbucks, for some reason I feel like if I take a sip I'll gain like 10000 lbs instantly. I think I tried one (it was really good by the way) one day (cause I wanted to redeem my treat receipt...sigh) but it was too much of a mouthful telling them what I wanted. "Can I get a...grande, non-fat, no whip, half-sweetened, extra ice mocha coconut frappuccino?" The drink is in bold if you can't find it in my order. They're extra nice about customization but if someone gave me an order like that I'd be pretty pissed.

Oh! I'm yakkin' again. So basically what I usually get is their chocolate banana smoothie (non-fat or soy, half sweet, half protein). It's one of the healthier options on there anyway! This recipe isn't a copycat recipe that I made because I liked the Starbucks smoothie so much, but it's a regular breakfast smoothie I make for myself at home, and I've been having it before I knew something similar existed from Starbucks. And by similar, I mean absolutely the same. It was awesome! Mine's healthier though, because instead of chocolate syrup, I use cocoa powder. It's heart healthy, richer, and makes you feel extra-indulgent without all the calories!

Chocolate Banana Smoothie makes 1 serving, 16 oz, or a 'grande' size

• 1 small ripe banana
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 8 ice cubes
• 1/2 scoop chocolate whey protein powder (optional)
• 1 heaping tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (more or less to taste ;) .... )
• 1 tsp Splenda (more if not using protein powder)

Combine ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth! Delicious!