Veggies Don't Bite

Cooking with plants and lovin' it...and ditching the gluten and {refined} sugar along the way!

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Vegan Healthy Shamrock Shake

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When your green smoothie is disguised as a healthy shamrock shake it’s a huge win! Filled with protein packed avocado and spinach for that extra green boost.

Green shake with chocolate chips in glass jar topped with whipped cream and a straw

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This recipe was originally published on 3/15/14

I have a gift of getting my kids to think healthy treats are actually dessert. I’m all for feeding them veggies with dinner, but if I can get them in with dessert too, I leave the day feeling like a superstar.

Are vegetable smoothies healthy?

The way I see it, you can never have too many veggies. We eat them with our meals, but I love nothing more than sneaking them into treats.

Fruit is great in a smoothie, but it’s best to balance out all the natural sugar in fruit with some veggies. There are loads of options that will give you a variety of nutrients.

The healthiest thing you can do is get as many veggies as you can into your body, making sure to mix it up so you are also getting a variety of vitamins and minerals.

What greens are best in smoothies?

Spinach in a green smoothie tends to be the first pick for people. I love it because it is versatile and has so many great qualities!

Avocado is also a great addition, not only for it’s creaminess but also because it is such a great protein and fat source. Our bodies need both of these to function, so to get it in all forms is not only healthy but the creaminess is also delish.

Here is a list of my favorites:

  • spinach
  • avocado
  • zucchini
  • lettuce
  • kale
  • chard
  • peas
  • celery

How do you make a healthy milkshake?

The first thing I did was decide what veggies I wanted to use to get the flavor and texture of a milkshake but also have a hidden healthy factor.

Spinach disguises itself well so because this is kids I went with that as my hidden green.

To help add to the creamy factor, I chose avocado. I love that it has all that fat and protein too, so a perfect way to boost their health without them knowing.

Steps to making the healthy shamrock shake:

  1. Put everything in the blender, except the chocolate chips, and blend.Top view of green smoothie with chocolate chips in a vitamix
  2. Add the chocolate chips and pulse until incorporated.
  3. Devour! And if you’re like me, the more whip the better. Whipped cream melting over a glass jar filled with green shake

More awesome drink desserts you might like:

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5 from 2 votes
Green shake with chocolate chips in glass jar topped with whipped cream and a straw
Print
Healthy Vegan Shamrock Shake
Prep Time
5 mins
Total Time
5 mins
 

When your green smoothie is disguised as a shamrock shake it's a huge win! Filled with protein packed avocado and spinach for that extra green boost.

Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Keyword: frozen banana milkshake, milkshakes made with avocado
Servings: 1 serving
Calories: 535 kcal
Author: Sophia DeSantis
Ingredients
  • ¼ cup spinach
  • ¼ avocado
  • 1 ½ very ripe frozen bananas
  • 5-6 ice cubes , optional for an icier shake
  • 1/8-¼ teaspoon peppermint extract , depending on how pepperminty you want it
  • 1 cup unsweetened almond or cashew milk , or use 1 cup full fat coconut milk for optimal creaminess
  • 1 tablespoon  maple syrup or 4 dates , optional for extra sweetness
  • ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips , plus more to sprinkle on top (use raw cacao nibs for raw shake with less sugar)
  • ¼ cup whipped topping , optional for topping
US Customary - Metric
Instructions

  1. Place all ingredients except the chocolate chips into a blender and mix until well blended. 

  2. You can add more milk if it’s too thick. 

  3. Add chocolate chips and pulse to chop them up, but don’t overblend because you will lose the green color. 

  4. Sprinkle with more chocolate chips and a dollop or whipped topping if desired.

Recipe Notes
  • Make sure you are using a neutral tasting avocado, some types have stronger flavors than others. Hass is probably the best bet, I used a Fuerte one time and the flavor was way too strong for us.
  • Make sure your bananas are very ripe when freezing to get the optimum sweetness. If they aren’t super ripe you may want to add more sweetener.
  • To make this nut free use a nut free milk.
  • Nutrition calculations use maple syrup and do not include whipped topping.
Nutrition Facts
Healthy Vegan Shamrock Shake
Amount Per Serving
Calories 535 Calories from Fat 225
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 25g 38%
Saturated Fat 10g 50%
Sodium 176mg 7%
Potassium 919mg 26%
Total Carbohydrates 83g 28%
Dietary Fiber 10g 40%
Sugars 52g
Protein 6g 12%
Vitamin A 17.8%
Vitamin C 27.3%
Calcium 7.5%
Iron 23.2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

If you like this recipe, please consider rating it with the star rating system and leaving a comment below. I love hearing from you and seeing your awesome remakes! Find me on Instagram and tag me @veggiesdontbite and #veggiesdontbite, or you can also find me on Facebook, and Pinterest. Thanks for helping me spread the word about delicious food!

Nutrition and metric information should be considered an estimate. Please read more about that here.

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Comments

  1. This looks so dang indulgent, but yet so healthy, my kind of shake! I’m not a big smoothie person, but I LOVE shakes and mint chocolate is one of my all-time favorite combos! I am loving how gorgeous and fancy it looks too girl! Awesome recipe!

    Reply

  5. Such a fun way to sneak those greens into a delicious drink 🙂 it’s almost like a dessert you drink with a straw! I imagine the full fat coconut milk would make it super dessert-like <3 I'm almost tempted to turn this into shamrock ice cream as well

    Reply

    • LOL Linda! I bet if you add a little vodka in it would make a fabulous adult drink…just an idea 😉

      Reply

  8. Ok, when I got the email, at first I wasn’t sure if it was a brand new recipe or not! But DAMN it looks amazing! So pretty! I love how thick and creamy it looks and the green color is spot on! I absolutely love mint and chocolate together…it’s addictive. Love how healthy it is too…great recipe girlfriend!!

    Reply

    • Yep, totally redid an old recipe for the season! I photographed it, WAY nicer this time, and updated the recipe a bit. It’s a great way to get the old recipes up to speed!! Thanks girl!

      Reply

  10. That’s hilarious that your youngest is part monkey. Does he get that from his mom or his dad? 😉 This shake sounds so tasty! I never use peppermint extract in my smoothies, but what a good idea!

    Reply

    • I think mostly dad, I like them but not love! The shake is really good though. The peppermint and chocolate take over!

      Reply

  12. Gosh, this sounds so so good <3 I love chocolate and mint in combination, but I never thought to add chocolate chips to a shake! Thanks for this great combination, Sophia 🙂

    Reply

  15. Gorgeous! And the chocolate chips just take it to the next level! Fyi: I lost my very fist tooth while drinking a chocolate chip smoothie – it was loose already and the chip was basically frozen so…. Good times. 🙂

    Reply

  18. This looks so yummy, I especially love the addition of chocolate chips – love bits of texture in my milkshakes, especially if it’s chocolate!
    Even better that it’s healthy, I can have two and not feel bad haha!
    Happy St Patrick’s Day!

    Reply

    • Hahahaha Jenna!! I have a BIG banana bowl. You should see the checkout person at the grocery store, if I had a penny for every time they commented…I swear my children are monkeys. Even the baby freaks for bananas! But really, they come in handy as a quick frozen treat. Much better than anything sugar filled!

      Reply

  25. love the smoothie! I used raw cacao and was wondering if you would reduce the amount if doing raw cacao nibs or just put them in at the beginning? When I made it every sip also was a big bite of cacao and was thinking maybe would help to reduce?

    Reply

    • So glad you liked it! If using cacao nibs, I’d put them in at the beginning. I tried it with them and personally liked the added crunch they gave but to get them smooth, you’d definitely want to blend them from the start! Let me know how it works!

      Reply

  26. Made this for the girls on Monday and they LOVED it. Really does taste just like mint chocolate chip! The greens, bananas, and chocolate in here inspired my smoothie after my run this morning and it turned out tasting just like a chocolate milkshake! I did a cup of TJ’s Power of the Greens, frozen bananas, chia seeds, Sun Warrior vanilla vegan protein powder, a generous scoop of organic chocolate coconut ice cream and almond milk! Yummy healthy chocolate shake!

    Reply

  29. 😀 This looks absolutely gorgeous 😀 Do you think you might consider taking a pledge to give up plastic straws? They are really harmful to marine life.
    Love from A xxxxx

    Reply

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