Sham-ROCKing Mint Irish Cream Chia Shake

Mix up this super refreshing and nutrition-packed seasonal treat with just a few simple and clean ingredients

Green is the color of the season.

This time of year, in most parts of the country, green is making a comeback. For months we’ve only seen shades of gray and brown, but finally, the winter is coming to an end and nature is waking back up!

We welcome green popping up from the ground and sprouting from tree branches, but it’s also making an appearance in some less-welcomed places — In the form of artificial green dyes and colorings in stores, restaurants, and bars (can we all agree that adding green food coloring to beer is unnecessary?).

One of the most glaring examples of this is the Shamrock Shake.

This limited edition sweet treat debuted back in the 1970s, but just over the last decade the McDonald’s Shamrock Shake has really developed a cult-like following.

We all know that a dessert from a fast food restaurant is not exactly going to be considered a "healthy option," however, you might be shocked at just how unhealthy some of these menu items can be.

A Small, 12-Ounce Shamrock Shake Contains:

    470 calories
    14 grams of fat (21% DV)
    9 grams of saturated fat (49% DV)
    .5 gram of trans fat
    74 grams of total carbohydrates (25% DV)
    55 milligrams of cholesterol (18% DV)
    65 grams of sugar

For an average person, it would take approximately a 5-mile run or a 90-minute bike ride to burn off the calories from a small shake, according to the Delaware News Journal.

Let's get one thing straight, with pretty much any dessert you’re going to be looking at a fat and calorie bomb. Most of us also know that having a treat here or there is fine in moderation, especially when we’re active and training.

The real jaw dropper is the staggering number of ingredients that make up this minty milkshake.

The McDonald’s Shamrock Shake lists only 3 seemingly innocent ingredients — vanilla reduced fat ice cream, "Shamrock Shake syrup", whipped light cream — but those THREE main ingredients are made of over 20 different ingredients!

In fact, the main ingredients of the shake have up to 10 individual ingredients comprising each of them, including: High fructose corn syrup, artificial flavors, carrageenan, preservatives, and a variety of yellow, blue, and red dyes.

So how do you satisfy that springtime sweet tooth without taking in a bunch of unwanted artificial ingredients?

We got you covered with a Sham-ROCKing Mint Irish Cream Chia Shake recipe you can make at home with just a few simple and clean ingredients.

Simply blend a scoop of Limited Edition Mint Irish Cream MUD with some fresh spinach, pistachios, chia seeds, yogurt and a frozen banana, and voila! You’ve got a super refreshing nutrition-packed shake ROCKing the color of the season — GREEN (Naturally, of course!)



Sham-ROCKing Mint Irish Cream Chia Shake

INGREDIENTS

1 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons black chia seeds
1 scoop Mint Irish Cream MUD
1/4 cup roasted and shelled pistachios                                            
1/2 frozen medium banana
1 cup of frozen vanilla yogurt
2 cups spinach

DIRECTIONS

1. Place the chia seeds in a cup or jar, add 1/2 cup of the almond milk and stir thoroughly to combine. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes or refrigerate overnight (or up to 4 days). 
2. Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add Mint Irish Cream MUD, spinach, yogurt, pistachios, frozen banana, and remainder of the almond milk, and blend until smooth.
   
   3. Garnish with a few crushed shelled pistachios on top and enjoy this fresh dose of springtime in a glass!