In our house we always enjoy a good holiday. St Patrick's Day is no exception. There may not be a drop of Irish blood in our family history but how can one resist dressing in green, building lepracaun traps and crafting colorful rainbows with piles of gold at the end of them all in an effort to drink up all that this holiday offers us. In the kitchen I love making the one pot meal of a boiled dinner and then treating everyone to a tray of Shamrock Shakes from McD's. Goodness those shakes are just so yummy!
This year I decided to try my hand at making my own Shamrock Shakes instead of the full-of-who-knows-what green and minty shakes from McD's. And guess what ladies and gents, I had success! Not only did I create a scrumptious shake that appealed to my girls and had them asking for more but it was also MUCH healthier than the shakes I served them in previous years. What happiness for me!
I used a frozen banana and a couple cubes of ice to make the shake thick and then I added in some almond milk, a couple drops of green food coloring and 2 drops mint extract (be SO careful when adding this into your mixture as you don't want to add too much or else the shake will taste just like toothpaste...yuck). I also dropped in a Thin Mint girl scout cookie because a cookie added into anything is just plain old fun. At the last minute, before I put the lid onto the container of my Nutribullet, I added in 2 scoops of good vanilla ice cream. I just had to! - I honestly feel like the shake would just not be festive without ice cream. Oh yes, as you have seen, whipped cream and a cookie on top was also a necessity for my shakes. REMINDER: this shake is "healthier" not "healthiest" by my standards.
I had so much fun making this recipe as I got to play around with making the drinks pretty. Delicious and pretty drinks go far in my book. I only wish I had gently placed a cherry on top of my mounds of fluffy white whipped cream too. Next time for sure.
Wishing all of you (Irish or not) a VERY Happy St. Patrick's Day. May it be full of luck and mischief, lots of beautiful green attire and many a "Healthier" Shamrock Shake.
"Healthier" Shamrock Shake
recipe makes 1-2 servings, depending on your glass size
Ingredients:
1 frozen banana
3-4 ice cubes
1 1/2 cups almond milk or milk of your choice
3 drops green food coloring
2 drops mint extract
2 scoops good vanilla ice cream (meaning ice cream that contains only 5-6 ingredients - said ingredients need to be those that you can read and recognize too)
1 Thin Mint cookie + a few more for garnish
whipped cream, freshly beaten or from a can
cherries - for garnish (as you don't want to forget them like I did)
Place all of the ingredients into a blender or a Nutribullet and blend well for about 20-25 seconds. Shake will be smooth and thick when done. Pour into glasses and garnish with whipped cream, cookies and cherries. Enjoy!
Happy "Healthier" Shamrock Shake Making!
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