Healthy Vegan Shamrock Shake

Updated! Who says St. Patrick’s Day indulgences have to be loaded with fat and sugar? This breakfast-worthy vegan shamrock shake, which I originally posted two years ago, is not only diet-friendly, it’s also loaded with nutrients that give it a beautiful green hue naturally! I enjoy this creamy, minty delight throughout the year, but like to share the recipe for this special “green” occasion.

This recipe uses greens and avocado for sneaky, nutritious additions that also provide a naturally festive green hue. I like to use romaine lettuce in this rich vegan shamrock shake as it gives a light, minty green color and doesn’t affect the flavor. Spinach also blends in seamlessly, but makes the shake a slightly darker green, depending on how much you use.

Some of you may be a bit stand-offish with the ingredients, but I can assure you that the avocado provides creamy thickness and the greens disappear, melding into the delicious vanilla-mint flavor rather than overpowering. Nonetheless, the process of making this vegan shamrock shake is just as important as the ingredients. To keep it nice and thick (I like to eat it with a spoon!) and to ensure that all of the ingredients blend in completely, you will want to minimize the amount of liquid added.

Your blender can most likely handle a thick shake (note that I do not have a high powered blender, and this still works great for me), but you should always add the softer ingredients first, followed by the frozen banana, when using a standard blender. If using a personal blender, add the frozen banana first, and then the soft ingredients. Basically, you want the softer (and leafier) ingredients closest to the blades to help the blender gain some momentum before hitting the tough stuff. If you are tempted to add more liquid, do so modestly. Too much milk beverage might make the greens spin in the blender rather than fully processing into a creamy vegan shamrock shake. If you do thin too much, or prefer a frosty shake, simply blend in a handful of crushed ice.

Special Diet Notes: Healthy Vegan Shamrock Shake

By ingredients, this recipe is dairy-free / non-dairy, egg-free, gluten-free, grain-free, optionally nut-free, peanut-free, soy-free, vegan / plant-based, vegetarian, and optionally paleo.

4.0 from 1 reviews

Healthy Vegan Shamrock Shake

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Total time

5 mins

 

Author: Alisa Fleming

Serves: 1 serving

Ingredients

• 1 very ripe, frozen, medium to large banana, broken into chunks
• 1 ounce avocado (about ¼ of a medium avocado)
• 1 to 2 romaine lettuce leaves or a handful of baby spinach
• ½ cup unsweetened rice milk, cashew milk, or coconut milk beverage (use homemade or lite coconut milk for paleo)
• ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon peppermint extract, to taste
• Sweetener to taste (see note below for options, including sugar-free)

Instructions

1. Add the banana, avocado, lettuce, milk beverage or coconut milk, vanilla and ⅛ teaspoon peppermint extract to your blender, so that the avocado and lettuce are closest to the blades and the frozen banana is furthest from the blades.
2. Blend about 1 minute or until it is nice and smooth. If it gets too thick to blend, add a little more milk alternative to get things moving.
3. Taste test and add more peppermint extract and sweetener, to taste, if desired. Pour into one large glass and enjoy with a spoon or straw (I added a little homemade coconut whip for the pictures).

Notes

Quick Notes: About 1 tablespoon of your favorite sweetener should do it, but feel free to adjust to taste. (see below for my “sugar-free” option – yes, there are naturally occurring sugars in banana)

Variations:
No Sugar Added Option: Instead of the above noted sweetener, I used one 25mg Scoop of Stevia plus 1 Teaspoon of Sweet-X Xylitol Crystals.

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