A Shamrock Shake Alternative you can drink all year without guilt!

Have you noticed that McDonald's is already selling its shamrock shake to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, which is more than a month away. You gotta love America's tendency to milk every holiday for all it's worth in cheaply made crap.

I've never had a shamrock shake, but from what I can gather it's a milkshake-like substance that's dyed green. It's full of high fructose corn syrup, preservatives, and chemicals. Go check out the McDonald's website for yourself.

Even if you're a shamrock shake lover (and hey, I'm not hating on anyone who treats themselves once in awhile), would you think twice about ordering a 16-ouncer if you knew that the shake, without whipped cream and cherry, still has 590 calories, 15 grams of fat, and 88 grams of sugar? Yup. That's up to 1/3 of the daily calories you need and a buttload of sugar.

If you're looking for a festive drink to celebrate St. Paddy's, give my green smoothie a test drive. It's sweet, creamy, thick, and delightfully green without additives.

I used all organic ingredients, including a dairy product. But, it's very easy to select similar ingredients to suit your own tastes and needs. Feel free to substitute with almond butter, coconut milk, cow milk, or soy yogurt to make it vegan or to avoid allergens.

Danni's Alternative Shamrock Shake

 (makes 1 serving, about 2 cups) [what I used is in brackets]

Blend together:

1 medium banana [organic]
1/2 cup low-fat or low-sugar vanilla yogurt [organic fat free vanilla]
1 heaping Tbs. peanut  butter [organic smooth]
1 or 2 handfuls of baby spinach [organic]
1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk [organic]
1 ice cube

And voila! You've created a beautiful, funky colored smoothie that tastes like desert (you can't taste the spinach at all!) for only 330 calories!*


Enjoy!

*caloric value will differ if you use substitute ingredients.