You Have To Try This!!

Oh My Goodness!  So, I found this pin on Pinterest for a "healthy" Shamrock Shake.  Now, I don't know about you, but this time of year, I get SO excited for a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds.  Unfortunately, a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds is 530 calories for a 12 oz. shake!  Yeesh!  To make it worse, there is absolutely NOTHING healthy in it.  Well, maybe milk, but that is it.

Back to the link on Pinterest, the original blogger, Simply, Taralynn said she made a 77 calorie version of it. You can find her recipe here.  I was a little skeptical, but thought I would try it.  Unfortunately, I didn't have most of the ingredients in house.  So, I faked it.  This is what I did with my first try:

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk, Reduced Sugar

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Body Fortress)

About 1/2 t. mint extract

About 1/2 t. Vanilla extract

Couple of drops of green food coloring

Ice

Throw all of that in your blender.  Mix until thick and smooth.  Enjoy!

That one was good.  It was.  But, after I kept looking at the other recipe, I thought I had to try it.  I went to the grocery store this morning and bought what I needed.  This was the result.

1 c. Vanilla Almond Milk, Reduced Sugar

1 Scoop Vanilla Protein Powder (I use Body Fortress)

1 c. fresh kale leaves

2 branches of FRESH mint leaves (I just used the leaves, not the stems)

2 small packets of Stevia

Ice

Throw all of that in your blender.  Mix until thick and smooth and all of the kale leaves are completely chopped and blended.  Enjoy and be healthy!

Oh wow!  Seriously people, this was SO awesome!!  The healthier version had no fake coloring and will get it's green color from the mint and kale.  I only add the Stevia because kale can sometimes make smoothies a little bitter so the Stevia helps with that.  When I finished, I was mad at myself that I hadn't made more.

There are some differences between mine and Simply, Taralynn's.  First, I don't stress too much about Organic.  My kale leaves and mint are organic, but that is really just by chance.  Secondly, I used vanilla almond milk because I like it, she uses water which would totally work too.  She does adds the vanilla extract but I don't since I use the vanilla almond milk.  So, if you use water, you need to throw in the vanilla!  I use a different Protein Powder than she does as well.  Finally, I used fresh mint, she uses dried.  Honestly, I just couldn't find the dried, so I bought fresh.  It totally works. :)  Finally, mine comes out at about 250 calories.  Obviously, this is more than her 77 calorie version, but still WAY better than the 530 of McDonalds and my portion was HUGE, we are talking 2 glasses full.  So, if you don't want 250 calories, split in in half, give a glass to a friend, and down 125 calories instead!  Win, win!

Oh finally, you might be wondering why I eat kale instead of spinach (that is the other difference between mine and Simply, Taralynn's version).  I can not eat raw spinach.  It will give me a kidney stone within a matter of days.  So, I just avoid it and eat kale in my smoothies instead.  Same benefits, same taste, no agony!

I hope you have a wonderful day.  Let me know if you try a Healthy Shamrock Shake just in time for St. Patrick's Day!!
Blessings!