With the goodness of spinach, avocado, banana, almond butter and spirulina, this smoothie should taste…er healthy. Add a dash of peppermint and a ripple of raw chocolate sauce and this Dairy-Free Chocolate Mint Smoothie is not only a healthy and nutritious glass; it’s a cup full of delicious and fun flavours. The kids are going to love this.
I’ve been learning new things week. Firstly, I have exercised my virtually non-existent and long ignored craftsy side and made new photography backgrounds. I don’t art. I can cook, I can photograph but stick figures are the extent of my artistic spectrum. However, with our new get-this-dang-renovation-finished-budget I needed to get creative if I wanted some new props. And can I say, I am a little proud of the outcome. Leftover cement sheets, sample pots of paint, a rendering trough – a “float” if you please, I also learned to render a wall this week – a sponge and bing-bang-boom, some pretty awesome antique-render looking facades. I didn’t use plaster, just the paint and a bit of imagination. I think as adults we should play more and jump in the puddles of our creative juices.
Okedokee…to the blender.
HEALTHY AND TASTY
I have a hard and fast rule in the Goodness Kitchen; if it doesn’t taste good I don’t care how good it is for me, it’s not getting in to my belly. This dairy-free chocolate mint smoothie is deliciously good. If you love the taste of mint crisps, you are going to love this. The beauty of it is that you can tweak it to your taste and still get the nutritional benefits. Don’t like mint? OK, firstly, weird, but secondly, simply omit the peppermint and spirulina and replace the almond butter with peanut butter and hello peanut butter chocolate smoothie.
I used spirulina in this shake for its nutritional punch but also the wonderfully vibrant green it lends the smoothie, but if you don’t have it, no matter. Without it, the smoothie will simply look more like a chocolate shake and there is nothing wrong with chocolate. And chocolate that is good for you? Bonus points right there.
This yum powered chocolate mint smoothie appeals to my inner child and while she’s out in the world learning new things and being all brave I figured she deserved a treat. Chocolatey, minty and healthy; well, that seems like a just reward, indeed.
Enjoy.
Dairy-Free Chocolate Mint Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 frozen banana
- 1/2 avocado
- 1 tablespoon almond butter
- 1/2 cup packed baby spinach leaves
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup more if you like it sweeter
- 1 teaspoon spirulina or matcha powder this will give you the vibrant green colour
- 1/2 cup / 125ml dairy-free milk
- 1 cup / 205ml coconut or regular water
- 1 drop good quality peppermint oil or 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract add more or less to taste
Chocolate Sauce
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 1/4 cup dairy-free milk
- 2 tbsp cacao or cocoa
Instructions
- To make the mint smoothie, combine all the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Taste and add more maple syrup or peppermint if needed.
- Place in the fridge while you make the chocolate sauce
- To make the sauce, whisk or stir the ingredients together until there are no lumps.
- To serve the smoothie, pour 1/3 of the mint smoothie in to a jar or glass follow with a thin layer of the chocolate sauce. Go easy with the chocolate, it can throw out the balance. Less is more here.
- Repeat until the jar is full and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
