St. Patrick's Smoothie

What can I say, I'm in the holiday spirit. I adapted this recipe from one I found somewhere online. Probably Pinterest. This smoothie tastes like mint chocolate chip ice cream, but it's much much healthier. I kept the ingredients the same, I just changed the amounts to suit my taste. After making this smoothie, I think I need to add mint to my garden!

St. Patrick's Day Smoothie

Serves 2

• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 loose handful of spinach
• 2 small bananas
• 1/4 cup mint
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbsp. chopped chocolate
• 2 cups ice

1. Blend everything except the chocolate until smooth. 
2. Add the chocolate and blend for a few more seconds, or until the chocolate has been finely chopped and incorporated.

Blueberry Cocoa Smoothie

I wish I could remember where this recipe came from so I could give credit. I took a snapshot of it with my phone awhile ago, but didn't record what website it came from. It's simple and relatively healthy, and I already had everything for it in my kitchen. I love when that happens. The original recipe listed Medjool dates, for sweetness I assume. I don't have those, so I used pure maple syrup instead.

After blending, I couldn't believe how delicious it smelled. Right away I could smell the co-dominant scents of the blueberries and chocolate. That combination never occurred to me, but I sense chocolate covered blueberries in my future. Or maybe chocolate blueberry muffins or scones. I was very surprised when I took the first sip. Initially I thought I didn't like it, but then I realized I was just in sensory overload. I could taste every ingredient in each sip- the tart blueberries, the bitter chocolate, the sweet syrup, the nutty almond milk, the smooth vanilla. Yum!

Blueberry Cocoa Smoothie

Serves 2

• 1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
• 1 cup homemade almond milk 
• 2 tsp. pure maple syrup
• 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Blend all ingredients in a blender and mix until smooth.
2. Divide between 2 cups and drink immediately.

Don't forget a coaster! I made this one last night using a tutorial I found on Earth911. It took awhile to get the hang of it, but overall it was pretty simple. The instructions say to use 16 strips to create an 8 x 8 pattern. In order to be able to tuck in the ends once all the strips were woven together, I had to leave out a strip. So I had 8 strips going one way, and 7 going another.

I can't wait to make more of these. I'm such a dork.