This delicious mint chip smoothie tastes super indulgent but is actually packed with healthy, nutritious ingredients! Inspired by mint-chocolate ice cream, it’s the perfect afternoon treat that will power you through the rest of your day and keep you cool in the summer heat!
Smoothies Are A Great Way To Pack In Nutritious Ingredients
Are you or someone you know having trouble getting your five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables daily? Try creative ways to add them in without your tastebuds knowing. This smoothie is creamy, slightly sweet, and tastes like a decadent treat. You, or whoever you make it for, won’t even be able to tell that it’s packed with leafy greens.
As always, be careful when buying ‘healthy’ store-bought smoothies. The goal here is to blend healthy ingredients together, not pack in sugary fruit juices, additional sweeteners, sweetened dairy products, or large amounts of fat. When you make the smoothie, you control what goes into it. Reducing the amount of calories, sugar, and fat are all important to a successful, tasty treat like this.
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Here Are Some Tips For Making A Smoothie At Home That Will Keep You Feeling Full And Satisfied.
- Add a protein like protein powder, yogurt, nut butters, cottage cheese, silken tofu, chia seeds/hemp seeds/flax seeds
- Choose a variety of fruits and vegetables. The sweetness from the fruits will mask the vegetables you add. Combine fresh produce with frozen for more texture.
- Opt for unsweetened or reduced sugar milk (dairy or non-dairy), water, or kefir for liquid. Don’t use fruit juices. This will limit added sugar.
- Consider adding a healthy fat such as nut butters, nuts, chia seeds, flax, sesame seeds, yogurt, or avocado. Fat will help fill you up and keep you satisfied.
Just A Quick Note!
Whether store-bought or homemade, it’s important to realize that smoothies can pack a ton of fruit. Some smoothies can easily be 3-5 carbohydrate servings. If you have a chronic condition, such as diabetes, you have to be careful about the amount of sugar and carbohydrates in your smoothie.
Mint Chip Smoothie Ingredient List
- Banana- the only preparation to make this smoothie is to freeze ripe bananas ahead of time! Frozen bananas add natural sweetness and creaminess to the smoothie.
- Spinach- adding leafy greens gives the smoothie a natural green color in addition to adding tons of nutrients
- Milk- I use oat milk but you can use regular milk or any non-dairy milk. Choose unsweetened or reduced sugar varieties to cut the sugar.
- Cacao nibs- give the smoothie lots of texture and crunch in every bite. Plus, they are so good for you! Continue reading below to learn more about them. They are an acquired taste but in this smoothie they are a great way to try them. If you don’t have them, or don’t like them, substitute dark chocolate chips.
- Peppermint extract- gives it the refreshing minty flavor. You can also use fresh mint leaves if you prefer.
- Dates- I recommend using Medjool dates in this recipe, because they taste amazing and add just the right amount of sweetness
- Nut butter- I added peanut butter for a little extra healthy fat and protein. Substitute your favorite nut butter
- Flax seeds- you can substitute chia seeds or hemp seeds
Where Does Chocolate Come From?
Most of you think of chocolate and probably think of a typical chocolate bar, chocolate chip cookies, or hot chocolate. But where does our favorite sweet treat come from? Chocolate is made from cacao, which comes from a plant called the Theobroma cacao tree. The cacao tree produces melon-like fruits called pods, each containing 30-50 seeds or beans surrounded by white pulp. Raw cacao beans undergo fermentation and are then dried out by the sun.
What Are Cacao Nibs?
After fermentation, the cacao beans can be made into all different products such as cacao powder, chocolate, or cacao nibs. Cacao nibs are cacao beans that have been cracked, fermented, and broken into smaller pieces. They contain no added sugar (unlike a typical chocolate bar which usually adds sugar and dairy). Cacao nibs’ flavor is bitter, nutty, and chocolatey. They add a nice crunch and nutritional boost to smoothies, baked goods, yogurt, oatmeal, and more.
Nutritional Value Of Cacao Nibs
Despite their small size, cacao nibs are packed with an abundance of nutrients which help maintain a healthy body. They contain a good amount of healthy fat, protein, and fiber, and that combination will keep you full. Cacao nibs are also packed full of antioxidants, specifically flavonoids, which help fight off free radicals that would otherwise cause damage to our bodies. These flavonoids have also been shown to help decrease inflammation in the body. Cacao nibs are also an excellent source of plant-based iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, and copper.
Just The Right Crunch
I add the cacao nibs at the end to keep them from becoming creamy like the smoothie. I want them to retain their structure, so they add a nice textured crunch.
This mint chip smoothie is a flavorful and nutritious way to start the day or a healthy snack or treat in the evening! I hope you enjoy this smoothie!
Looking For More Healthy Treats, Check Out Some Of My Favorites Below
Healthier Chocolate Peanut Butter Eggs
Chocolate Peanut Butter Nice Cream
Mint Chip Smoothie
Ingredients
- 1 tightly packed cup fresh spinach
- ½ cup milk of choice
- 1 Tablespoon ground flax seeds or hemp seeds
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract
- 1 Tablespoon peanut butter unsalted
- 1 medjool date pitted
- 1 medium banana frozen
- 2 Ice cubes
- 2-3 teaspoons cacao nibs
Optional
- Protein powder
- ¼ avocado
Instructions
- In a high speed blender, add the spinach, milk and flax seed and blend well. Next add the peppermint extract, peanut butter, medjool date, frozen banana, and ice cubes. Blend until smooth. Taste and adjust flavoring or consistency to your liking*.
- Add cacao nibs and pulse for just a few seconds just to mix through. Pour into a glass and enjoy!
Nutrition Facts
*Start with less peppermint extract if you are afraid it will be too minty (I found 1/2 teaspoon to be the perfect amount!). After blending (and before adding the cacao nibs) taste the smoothie and you can always add more peppermint to your liking. If it’s too thick you can add more liquid. If you want it thicker, add more ice. The most important thing to do is freeze the banana in this recipe to make the smoothie creamy and cold. Freeze ripe bananas and place in Ziploc bag. If you don’t use a frozen banana, I suggest adding more ice cubes to get it chilled. If you want more protein feel free to add a scoop of protein powder, kefir, yogurt, etc... Any milk will work fine: almond, oat, regular dairy milk, cashew. You can even substitute kefir for some of the milk for some probiotics. Be sure to use unsweetened of any variety you choose to reduce the amount of sugar.
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