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The Malted Maca Milkshake!

This is something I have been wanting to share with you guys for a while!

First, a little background. If you aren’t familiar, Maca is a South American root vegetable that is ground into a powder and sold as a “super food” with adaptogenic (stress relieving) properties. Supposedly, it replenishes your adrenals and helps you cope with stresses.

I typically roll my eyes and walk away at claims like that, but I have to say, maca has been POWERFUL for me. Whenever I’m physically drained or emotionally stressed, I’ve found maca to have a noticeable effect. Whether it’s emotional stress or even physical stressors like too much caffeine or long runs, maca has a way of making me feel energized and empowered while also grounded and calm (unlike caffeine).

The thing is… maca is kind of gross by itself. If you just eat the stuff, it has a very bitter, chalky, intense taste. When you mix it with other flavors, though, things get interesting. While experimenting with the ingredient, I realized that it develops a really beautiful roasted / malted kind of flavor profile when mixed with chocolate.

That got me thinking  – what if I used maca in a vegan malt recipe in place of malted milk powder? And, what if I could do it in classic “One Ingredient” style with no added sugar or processed ingredients?

I was floored at how well this turned out! So sweet, with a chocolate / vanilla / caramel-like vibes and tons of malt flavors from the maca. Best of all, it has just 7 ingredients (one is ice cubes) and the recipe is simple enough to memorize and make in 5 minutes…

Maca Note: You’ll want to make sure your maca is “gelatinized” (the package will say), as raw maca may not be a healthy thing to consume regularly, nor does it have the deep roasted flavor that we need here. In my experience, I have found the Navitas Maca (aff link) to be really effective, but anything you have will do.

Makes: 1 malt

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup almond milk
  • 2 ice cubes
  • 1 frozen banana (cut in chunks)
  • 3 medjool dates
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon almond butter
  • 2 teaspoons maca powder
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Step One

Take a deep breath because this recipe is pretty complex. Ready? Okay: throw all the ingredients into the blender and blend until smooth. Done.

Step Two

If you feel like that’s too easy, you can use a microplane to grate a chunk of dark chocolate and a cashew on top to make it look all fancy, as shown. You can also pop in the freezer for a few minutes to make it even colder and thicker, if desired.

Other Maca Recipes

If you’re into maca, here’s a few of my other recipes that use the ingredient.

6 Comments

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    • Bah, whoops! There’s supposed to be a cup of almond milk as well, which I’ve fixed. It hope no one tried that without the liquid or they would have had a VERY thick shake LOL. Thanks for catching that!

  1. The Super Malted Maca Milkshake was delicious. I added almond milk, because the recipe I printed did not have it as an ingredient. Would definitely make this for family members who are not vegan/nutritarian, etc.

    • Hi Lorrie, glad you like it! Sorry about the almond milk – you must have printed it asap because I realized I forgot that ingredient and added it right after I posted it. Yes I think it’s one of those that even the “non-vegans” would like 🙂

  2. This is tasty! Made it today and the ratios are spot on for a nice single serving. An energizing and healthy but decadent addition to my morning!

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