Recipe // Shamrock Shakes

We love celebrating St. Patrick's Day around here. Always have.

My dad's name is Patrick.

His mother's maiden name was McCarthy.

He believes this is his holiday, and so since I was a kid we celebrated St. Patty's like it's his birthday.

All that really meant was green milk with supper, and Shamrock Shake's at McD's, but with my kids I've kept the tradition of eating green going.

Personally, I've really been eating a lot cleaner lately (no really), so McDonalds was kinda out of the question. Fortunately one thing I love even more than a well-themed holiday, is tricking my family. Especially into eating something healthy.

I took to the kitchen and shook up the Shamrock Shake recipe into something entirely (almost) good for you.

Ingredients:

• 2 bananas
• Greek yogurt (I chose Vanilla flavoured because that's what we had on hand, however you can get yourself some healthier bonus points by opting for plain and adding a dash of organic vanilla)
• Coconut Milk (I used unsweetened)
• Half an avocado
• Half a handful of baby spinach
• 5 fresh mint leaves
• 4 ice cubes
• Fat free whip and sprinkles. Not healthy, but necessary. If I'd put some more thought into this I could have picked up some coconut milk whip or maybe made my own with cream.

Toss everything in a blender and blend until you can no longer see spinach or mint bits. I cannot stress this enough. Especially if you plan to serve this beverage to my son.

That's it!

Top with a dollop of whip and some festive green sprinkles and serve.

It tastes like a thick, creamy vanilla shake with a hint of mint. I didn't find the banana overwhelming at all. And Griffin LOVED it.

He didn't agree with my tasteful mint garnish, but once I "got the shot" I was happy to let him do his thing.

Because I'm an excellent mother.

And, like so many other important life lessons, he's just going to have to learn the "don't eat sequins" rule on his own.

I guess.

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xo Em