Shamrock Shake

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

We love Saint Patrick’s Day in our house!  Besides the green toilet water (we have a leprechaun that pees in our toilet EVERY YEAR), I’m planning to make most of our morning snacks green!

We could celebrate by taking a trip to McDonald's and ordering up a Shamrock Shake. If I ordered a large, I'd be consuming 800 calories and a whopping 113 grams of sugar! Remember it is recommended by the American Heart Association that the average adult consume 25-36 grams of sugar per day.  EEEK- let's try this smoothie instead!

I don’t know about you, but my girls tend to turn their nose up at my green smoothies, but I have a solution to help us teach our kids that green is GOOD!

MINT

I love this smoothie with or without mint but most kids jump at the chance for a cool green mint chocolate chip smoothie! They won’t even know that it is packed with spinach, avocado, and high in protein. You have to try it!

I can easily drink 16 oz. of this as a meal replacement but if you're making it to complement your breakfast, an 8 oz. serving is perfect.

I recommend adding fresh whip cream to the top, a mint leaf, and cocoa nibs (adults) or mini chocolate chips (kids). The perfect sweetness depends on your tastebuds so adding some honey, monk fruit, 2-3 dates, or a ripe banana can help create the perfect balance.

PREP TIME 5 minutes  

Serves 2 at 16 oz. each (250 calories per serving) or serves 4 at 8 oz. each (125 calories per serving)

The list of ingredients below (without additions) make approximately 32 oz total.

Optional additions (below) will increase the total calories a bit but the dollop of whip cream and a splash of sweetness will be worth it. My Shamrock Smoothie could help increase your family’s love for blended greens!

Ingredients

  • 2-3 cups ice (depends on how thick you want it)
  • 1/2 medium avocado
  • 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 cups baby spinach
  • 6-8 fresh mint leaves (MORE IF YOU LIKE IT EXTRA MINTY)
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup milk (any kind or non-dairy alternative)
  • 1 scoop vanilla protein powder

Optional additions

  • additional sweetener of choice (maple syrup, honey, sugar, stevia, monk fruit)
  • whipped cream for topping
  • cacao nibs/mini chocolate chips for topping
  • 1 banana
  • 2-3 Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies (this one will win you extra points w/ your kids)

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a high-powered blender (I love my Blendtec!) in the order listed, including any optional additions.
  2. Process until smooth.
  3. Pour into glass and top with whipped cream, mint, and/or cacao nibs/chocolate chips if desired.

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