Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Rather than share a decadent Shamrock Shake or a moist-and-delicious Guinness Cake or other drippy, sinful St. Paddy’s Day treat, I thought I’d be a rebellious little leprechaun and share a simple, relatively healthy green smoothie for those among us who are in the mood!
This smoothie would go great with a Shamrock Shake, by the way…)
(Ha.)
Start by adding a heap of yogurt to the blender. This is plain Greek yogurt, but you can use vanilla Greek yogurt, regular vanilla yogurt, or any flavor of yogurt (including yogurt containing fruit) you’d like!
It’s a smoothie, baby. There are no rules.
Add a little bit of milk. I used whole milk because whole milk is my life, but you can do anything all the way down to nonfat…or you can use soy milk, almond milk—whatever makes your skirt fly up.
Pile in some fruit. I kept it in the yellow/green family so the smoothie would wind up being nice and bright green later: pineapple, banana (against my better judgment, but bananas and smoothies just go together), green apple, pear, and grapes.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Mango, avocado (yes!), cucumber, zucchini.
A little ice is nice! I like smoothies that are undeniably, unapologetically freezing cold.
Blend that baby until it’s super blended and smooth…
And then it’s time for the green to assert itself. Grab some kale and add a bunch to the blender…
Then blend it again…
Until it’s all mixed in.
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Spinach, collard greens, mustard greens, or a mix of all of the above.
Oops! Don’t forget the honey or whatever sweetness you want. (If you use vanilla or other flavored yogurt, you won’t have to sweeten it quite as much.)
OTHER POSSIBILITIES: Sugar, brown sugar, stevia, maple syrup,
OPTIONAL INGREDIENT: Don’t quote me on this, but if you added a very small spoonful of coconut oil OR a little coconut
Then serve it up!
The green intensifies a bit in the minutes following blending it up, and your soul will thank you as you drink it down.
Go have a Shamrock Shake if that’s what your heart tells you to do!
(Or whip up one of these…whichever you prefer.)
Here’s the handy dandy printable, though it’s really a customizable recipe. Just make it all yours.
