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Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Homemade Shamrock Protein Shake

Yesterday I was very excited. Not only was it my last day of my first year of college, but I also had plans to get the ingredients to make a HOMEMADE SHAMROCK SHAKE!

Instagram pic


For any of you who know me, you know that there is a special time of year when McDonald's produces the infamous, ever-so-delicious Shamrock Shake. Yeah, it's ridiculously bad for you, but I figure it's once a year. I can indulge.

However, this year, I was especially bummed when the Shamrock shake special was coming to an end. McDonald's promised to me that they would carry this shake through the end of March. Well...they didn't. How would I know? I hunted down every freakin' McDonald's in the Nashville area in search of one.



I did manage to get one on St. Patty's Day, though. Score!

So when I stumbled upon (yes, I told you I've been doing some serious stumbling lately) a recipe for a healthy protein version of the Shamrock shake, I was intrigued <-- *cough* that's probably an understatement.

Who loves Wally World? I do! And lucky for me, there's one right nearby where I live. WOOT WOOT. So I picked up all the ingredients I would need that afternoon.

This morning, I woke up around 10-something (gotta indulge a little in the fact that school's out!) and decided a couple hours later that it was time to MAKE THE SHAKE.



That's the finished product. Had to post a picture to Instagram.


Stonyfield Organic French Vanilla yogurt, McCormick pure mint extract, Truvia natural sweetener, instant pistachio pudding, and a Magic Bullet blender to mix it all up!


From the bottom: yogurt, protein powder, mint extract, sweetener, ice cubes, water, pistachio pudding, food coloring.
Before the blend.




After!






Like all recipes, I modified mine a bit from the original.

Here's the breakdown:

-1/2 cup Stonyfield Organic vanilla yogurt (instead of cottage cheese)
-1/4 c. Whole Foods Soy Protein Powder [natural vanilla flavor]
-1/8 tsp. McCormick mint extract
-1 packet Truvia natural sweetener** (instead of 2-3)
-15 ice cubes
-1 tbsp. water (instead of 4oz.)
-3 drops green food coloring
-2 tbsp. instant pistachio pudding

Since I didn't use cottage cheese (I refuse...just doesn't sound appealing) to give it that nice, thick consistency, I reduced the amount of water and upped the ice cube count. I put 5 ice cubes in at a time, blended, then added 5 more. It's better to do it in small amounts and add, rather than put too many in at once. YOU CAN ALWAYS ADD MORE. But you can't take out an already-blended-in ice cube.

Another thing I may try is freezing my yogurt. This might give it a thicker consistency as well.

**1 packet of Truvia (or whatever sweetener you use) is definitely enough, in my opinion. Between the vanilla yogurt and the pistachio pudding, it tastes pretty sweet. The second time I made this shake, I didn't use Truvia at all, and honestly couldn't tell the difference.


Overall, I give this recipe a big THUMBS UP! I gulped this shake down faster than I should have. It was delicious minty goodness.

Oh, and I usually hate the way protein powder tastes when I mix it into things. But it was fantastic in this recipe! YAY!

Here's a link to the original recipe: http://dashingdish.com/recipe/shamrock-protein-shake/ 

For how healthy this shake is compared the the McD's version, I may have just said goodbye to their version of the Shamrock shake...forever? :P

If any of you try this recipe, let me know what you think :)

Stay lovely!

xo,
T

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