We drink a lot of smoothies in our family! They are really a perfect lunch since they are quick to make and filling and satisfying, especially for the kiddos. Our favorite smoothie at the moment is a Mint Chocolate Smoothie. This smoothie is highly customizable depending on if you are dairy-free or avoiding specific sugars. We all love this smoothie recipe just as written but you can adjust based on your tastes.
If you follow the Trim Healthy Mama plan it is an S (Satisfying).
Ingredient Options for Mint Chocolate Smoothie
Avocado – this adds an awesome creaminess and increases the calorie count (184 calories to be precise). As far as flavor, you’ll never guess there is avocado in the mint chocolate smoothie. If you omit the avocado, this is an FP for Trim Healthy Mama.
Sweeteners – You’ll notice some options for a sugar substitute in the recipe (if you are using unsweetened protein powder)vanilla protein powder. This is definitely a personal preference and your specific sugar will affect the flavor. Just be sure your smoothie is sweetened enough to cut the bitterness of the chocolate. You may find that you do not need additional sugar due to any sweeteners in your protein powder. I always add my sweetener last.
My preference at the time of originally publishing this recipe was to use 1 tablespoon of Xylitol and 2 dongles of KAL Pure Stevia Extract. KAL is by far, my favorite stevia extract powder. This combination results in the perfect sweetness for me and my kids, but adjust as needed. My current favorite is Monk Fruit Extract which tastes amazing as the lone sweetener and has virtually no aftertaste. If you find you need your smoothie a little sweeter, you can always adjust or even add a tiny bit of table sugar.
Protein Powder – I highly recommend you avoid any added refined or artificial sweeteners. If you want a sweetened protein powder, this vanilla milk-based protein is delicious! They also have an unsweetened plain protein that works well if you want more control of the sweetness of your recipe. These protein powders are from grass-fed cows and the vanilla one is sweetened with monk fruit and stevia. If you are vegan, I suggest you go with a pea protein such as this one without sugar as well.
Peppermint – you have some options to get your smoothie peppermint-flavored; extract, emulsion, or essential oil. My preference is to buy the emulsion which has the same potency as an extract but is more versatile in that you can bake with it and it doesn’t burn off.
Milk – This is very much a personal preference. You can use any type of milk you prefer such as coconut, cow, avocado, oat, cashew, or my preference – almond. Of course, whatever you choose will affect your smoothie’s carb count.
Now that you have all the options…let’s get to the recipe!
Mint Chocolate Smoothie
Equipment
- Blender
Ingredients
- 5-6 ice cubes
- 1 cup almond milk, unsweetened
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
- 1 tbsp. cocoa powder, unsweetened
- ½ avocado
- pinch salt
- ½ tsp. peppermint extract or 2 drops food grade peppermint extract
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- sugar, stevia, monk fruit, xyilotl to taste
Instructions
- Pour all ingredients into a blender.
- Pulse a few times and blend until smooth.
Nutrition
So what about you, do you drink smoothies throughout the winter or am I an oddity?
*drool* Gorgeous, and tasting looking as always! Thanks for linking up.
Gwen
Just found this recipe. Enjoyed it after my workout. Sooo yummy and satisfying. Thank you!
So glad to hear you enjoyed it Amanda!
I just wanted to tell you that your mint skinny chocolate is the BEST. I LOVE IT. I almost cried tonight thinking I couldn’t find the link but I googled skinny chocolate and I found it again. Now I think I’m following you on pinterest! or at least I pinned that recipe. I want to try this shake. Thank you so much!
Yay Debbie! I’m so glad you found the recipe again and I hope you love the Mint Chocolate Smoothie just as much!
When you talk about using the peppermint essential oil, is that from the line of Essential Oils? I was guessing it is, but wanted to be sure.
I’m not sure which line you are talking both Michelle. I use Young Living personally but I’m sure there are other Peppermint oils that are food safe.
Your KAL pure stevia has maltodextrin, making it not THM friendly. Look for sweeteners without maltodextrin or dextrose. 🙂
Yes! You are exactly right Stephanie! KAL used to have stevia extract that didn’t contain maltodextrin in it. Sadly, they changed the formula. 🙁 But I got in on it before the maltodextrin was added. The Whole Foods 365 brand of stevia extract is my new recommendation for anyone looking for stevia, (has great flavor too). I suspect that it will be 10 more years before I need to buy anymore. LOL!
How big is your scoop of protein powder? I’m trying to make sure it’s the same as mine and I don’t want to dump in too much…
Hi Marian! I think the scoops are standard sizes across the board. But to be sure, I measured and mine measures to be 1/3 cup.