McDonald’s has a super popular, seasonal milkshake called the Shamrock Shake. It’s minty, creamy, cold, and goes down smooth!
I love a good milkshake, but I don’t love some of the ingredients and large amounts of sugar they put in this drink.
Yes – it’s a milkshake, of course there will be sugar (the large has 100g+ sugar).
Yes – they’re not promoting this as a ‘healthy choice’ so it makes sense they would add things like xanthan gum for thickening, Yellow 5 and Blue 1 to make it green, and sodium benzoate for freshness. Having it here and there when it comes out won’t do any long term damage…but to me, it’s not worth it.
I’d probably like and enjoy the shake, but I’d also like and enjoy a version without any added chemicals, dyes, and preservatives and way less sugar JUST as much.
That’s a really important piece when it comes to eating intuitively, and honoring your hunger.
As humans, we’re emotional beings not designed to only get fuel from food. We’re also hard-wired to eat for emotional reasons and for satisfaction. Eating releases feel-good neurotransmitters in our brain that triggers our rest & digest nervous system to activate, and we have sweet taste buds on our tongue and they’re there to give us pleasure from food.
If a “healthified version” of a food or beverage is not as pleasurable to you as the real thing, you miss out on that satisfaction. Because of that, you’re more likely to have cravings and overeat later.
That’s the beautiful part about intuitive eating, you have the power to make educated, empowered choices about what you want to eat/drink. If this McDonald’s version is something you look forward to all year or if you just love how it uniquely tastes or if you just want it – get it, enjoy it! 🙂
You’re not bad or wrong for having it. What you eat/drink is NO reflection of who you are as a person.
But if you are open to trying something new like I was, why not give this recipe a shot?
My version contains less than 10 nutrient-packed ingredients – like coconut milk, banana, avocado, and spinach! All ingredients are naturally dairy-free and gluten-free, and it’s vegetarian, vegan and paleo-friendly! It totally hits the spot. Creamy, minty and delicious…and it’s even green too 🙂
And if you want to add a dairy-free “cool whip” topping, this is a simple 3-ingredient recipe.
The original doesn’t have chocolate, but I’ve added a twist on it for all of my fellow chocoholics – totally optional though. You can even change its’ name to the Peppermint Patty Shake!
There’s no need to fear these fats!
Because of the high fat content (healthy fats – the kind your body needs to stay healthy!), this smoothie will keep you full and satisfied for hours. Healthy fats are metabolized much differently from other fats. These fats actually help boost your metabolism, lower inflammation, lower blood pressure, lower your risk of heart disease, and they’ll help your body absorb the nutrients from the other ingredients even better too. Win-win!
If you are a McDonald’s Shamrock Shake lover, or just a lover of all things peppermint (& chocolate) like me, I hope you’ll try my version! And don’t forget to tell me what you think if you tried it – I always love hearing from you!
- 1/2 can full fat coconut milk
- 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1 ​pre-cut, ​frozen ripe banana
- 1/4 avocado
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla ​extract
- 1/3 teaspoon peppermint extract​ (or 1 drop peppermint essential oil)​
- 1 1/2 - 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup or honey
- 6 ice cubes
- Small handful baby spinach
- For Whipped Cream: ​See link below
- For Peppermint Patty Variation: Cacao nibs or Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips, see below
- Put all ingredients in the blender ​and blend until smooth​!​
- Whipped Cream:www.HealthyEaton.com/coconut-whipped-cream-recipe
- Optional Variation (I love this!): Add 2 tablespoons cacao nibs or Enjoy Life brand chocolate chips at the end and pulse to combine
