Coffee Banana Smoothie (The Jumpin' Monkey)

Each Thursday, Emily Vikre (a.k.a fiveandspice) will be sharing a new way to love breakfast -- because breakfast isn't just the most important meal of the day. It's also the most awesome.

Today: Get your meal and coffee in a single glass.

When I was in high school, our town acquired a bagel shop. The kind of bagel shop that substitutes novelty for quality. The kind where you can get a French toast flavored bagel spread with chocolate-strawberry cream cheese, if you are so inclined. And because I was in high school, I was so inclined. I was thrilled.

I was also thrilled because they made blended coffee drinks, and blended coffee drinks are kind of like crack for high schoolers -- but the nearest Starbucks (this being a small town and pre the days of another Starbucks down the street from every Starbucks) was a ways away. The coffee drink my friends and I all became particularly infatuated with from the bagel shop was called the “jumpin’ monkey.” It was a frothy, icy blend of espresso, chocolate, and banana.

The other day, as I was staring at a pile of bananas that were on their way south, a memory of the jumpin’ monkey suddenly flitted into my mind. And there it stayed. It struck me that, while a French toast flavored bagel is almost certainly not actually a good idea, blending together a banana or two with some yogurt, cocoa powder, and espresso might be. So I tried it. And it was. It allows you to get your meal and your caffeine all in a single glass. Plus, it’s an excuse to eat chocolate at breakfast.

The Jumpin’ Monkey

Serves 2

2 very ripe bananas, cut into chunks and frozen
2 two-ounce shots of espresso (or about 4 ounces very strong coffee), cooled
1/2 cup Greek-style yogurt
6 ounces milk
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 tablespoon honey (optional)

See the full recipe (and save and print it) here. 

Photos by Emily Vikre