Chocolate Mint “Green” Smoothie

Here’s another surefire way to coax my stomach into getting some food into it when I’m not feeling my best and it decides to shut down on me. And since Christmas this year seems to be causing me a lot of emotional stress, well, Mr. Tummy has really entered uncooperative mode and refuses to feed normally.

Heck, he even refused pizza, today. PIZZA!

“Mhey… that dough is too soft, he said. Plus, it’s white. C’mon. Are you really going to feed me white pizza dough? Pfft, you know I don’t eat THAT! And there’s tomato sauce on it. And bell peppers. I’m not in the mood for bell peppers. So thanks, but no thanks. I’ll pass!”

I had to actually force feed it ONE poor little meager slice. That’s all I could manage.

But that smoothie? No way he could find anything wrong with that.

I mean, look at this. Would you say no to one of these?

Just please, don’t anyone read him the list of ingredients…

Because trust me, if you haven’t seen it, you’ll never guess what’s actually in it!

Can you think of a more beautiful and appetizing way to get some greens in you?

I don’t.

CHOCOLATE MINT GREEN SMOOTHIE

INGREDIENTS
Serves 1

Part I

½ avocado
½ cup fresh baby spinach leaves
¼ cup fresh mint leaves
½ cup unsweetened soy milk
½ scoop (20g) vanilla flavored whey protein
¼ cup pasteurized egg whites

Part II

2 heaping tbsp extra dark cocoa powder
1 tbsp flaxseed meal

Garnish (optional)

0% fat plain Greek yogurt
Cacao nibs
Fresh mint leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

Add all ingredients of part one to your blender or food processor and process until smooth (a mini blender might not cut it here… spinach and mint leaves do take up a lot of room. You need the real arsenal for this one!)
Transfer half of that mixture into a separate container and reserve.
Add the cocoa powder and flaxseed meal to what’s left in your blender or food processor and process until smooth.
Pour half of that into a serving glass. Top with reserved mint mixture. Finish with the rest of the chocolate.
Garnish with a dollop of plain yogurt, cacao nibs and mint leaves, if desired.

Posted on Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 at 21:31 in Breakfast, Smoothies, Snacks | RSS feed | Respond | Trackback URL

Tags: Avocado, Breakfast, Chocolate, Mint, Shake, Smoothie, Snack, Spinach

32 Responses to “Chocolate Mint “Green” Smoothie”

Eat good 4 life
December 22, 2011 at 23:00

I almost always use fresh organic spinach for my smoothies but never thought of using avocado…I bet it makes the texture of the smooty very creamy….something to think about next time I make them

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 06:50
  
  Very rich and creamy indeed, not to mention all the healthy fats, fibers and vitamins that it adds! It’s definitely a winner!
  
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Stephanie
December 22, 2011 at 23:11

Hi! I’m a huge lover of your recipes. I just had a question if it was okay to eat raw pasteurized egg whites? I often eat raw egg yolks for nutrition, but are egg whites okay? Thank You!!

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 06:47
  
  Thanks Stephanie! Glad to hear you like my recipes. To answer your question, it’s very safe to eat raw egg whites, so long as they have been pasteurized. You can check out this site for more info
  
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Michelle@PeachyPalate
December 23, 2011 at 02:24

All I can say is wow! You fulfilled that chocolate craving nicely!

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 06:53
  
  Have I now? I want some more….
  
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jess white
December 23, 2011 at 03:50

THIS IS AMAZING! So imaginative, i love all your recipes, they’re right up my street, i thought i would finally show some appreciation!

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 06:43
  
  Hey, thank you Jess! I truly appreciate your showing some appreciation! Glad you like my recipes. I’ll have to look up some of yours, too! Seems like you’ve got some pretty good things on your site too! Will definitely have to explore it some more!
  
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Megan
December 23, 2011 at 08:22

Oh my gosh this looks incredible. My blender broke recently, hoping I get one for Christmas. I will 100% be making this. Drooling over the pics haha

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Lauren @ www.cravingsgoneclean.com
December 23, 2011 at 08:59

I LOVE mint chocolate. This is a great use of hidden veggies! Do you think this recipe would fly for people who aren’t usually healthy eaters? (If I made it and they didn’t know?)

I hope you’re feeling better soon. I definitely understand where you’re at with the emotional tummy. I’ve been there. In those times, I’ve always found smoothies to be the easiest/best thing to do be doing, and you are the queen of smoothies, so you’ve got that going for ya

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Meg
December 23, 2011 at 10:38

Oh girl, you are a genius xo

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 17:38
  
  Thank you so very much!
  
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Nora @ Natural Noshing
December 23, 2011 at 10:54

I hope you feel better soon Sonia! I am sorry you are going through a rough time – I wish there was something I could do! All the best to you my dear!
I am glad you could get some nutrition in with this smoothie – and hey, you tried avocado in your smoothie finally!!! : ) This looks fabulous, creamy and so decadent….YUMMMM

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 24, 2011 at 12:58
  
  How did I ever miss your comment??? Sorry about that, just saw it this morning. Oh, can’t wait until this whole Christmas thing is over and things get back to normal. Guess I’ll have to plan better, next year. I will be feeling better soon, that much I know. Couple of days to go! Thanks for your comforting words. And you ARE doing something. Just you being here, reading this and leaving this comment is already plenty! I truly appreciate your regular presence on my blog, Nora.
  
  And yes, I finally gave that a try, true, I have you to thank for that. What an amazing texture it conveys to a smoothie. Thanks for putting this idea into my mind!
  
  I look forward to all new inspirations from you for the years to come! And don’t be too hard on your body with all the changes that are happening in your life. Stay healthy, girlfriend! xoxo
  
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Andrea
December 23, 2011 at 15:20

I LOVE the presentation of this smoothie! You make it look so beautiful with the swirls and everything I would definately love to make this smoothie and maybe even make it for breakfast for my brother who is home from the military. I don’t have any mint leaves though so maybe I will try replacing the mint leaves with extra spinach and pure mint extract. BTW, I LOVE avocado in smoothies! Makes the texture sooo smooth!

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 17:35
  
  Very smooth indeed. Glad I finally decided to give it a try. Now I’m hooked. I don’t think you even need to add the extra spinach, mint extract should do the trick. But if you do want to add them, go right ahead, more good nutrients is never a bad thing. Thank you for your lovely comment! I appreciate that!
  
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Heidi @ Food Doodles
December 23, 2011 at 15:56

Beautiful! I hope you’re feeling alright! But then again, with an awesome smoothie like this you should be better in no time I loooooove the mint. It’s always this time of year when I wish I would have salvaged a bit of my mint plant to bring inside Such pretty pictures for this one by the way, and I love the glass you used

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 23, 2011 at 17:32
  
  Thank you so much Heidi! I should be feeling much better as soon as this whole Christmas thing is behind me… Hopefully next year won’t be as hard! Can you not buy mint at the supermarket? I wish it was as readily available as parsley is, really!
  
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Aly
December 24, 2011 at 09:39

I love all of your recipes, they are all so decadent and yet healthy too! I was wondering though…so many of your recipes include protein powder, which I don’t have the moolah to invest in. Is there anything I can use to substitute or can I leave it out altogether?

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 24, 2011 at 12:51
  
  In most cases, you could just omit the protein powder altogether and you wouldn’t see much of a difference. Maybe you’ll want to add a little bit of a sweetener to up the sweetness level, but that’s about. I tend to use a lot of protein powder because I don’t eat much meat, so this really helps get some protein into my body!
  
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Leanne @ Healthful Pursuit
December 25, 2011 at 06:55

Your photos are AMAZING! My gosh, I’ve seen them all over Pinterest. I need to make this!

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  December 25, 2011 at 21:54
  
  My, thanks A LOT Leanne! Coming from you, that is one MAJOR compliment! You just made my day! Thanks!
  
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kalie
January 7, 2012 at 09:20

Holy crap your smoothies are good! I made the pear one two days ago, and swore it was my favorite smoothie ever. Then yesterday I made this mint one and swore IT was! Made the pear one again, and now I just don’t know haha. I am going to try the gingerbread one as soon as I can get my hands on some blackstrap molasses (my town has like 1 good grocery store and they don’t carry it). Anyway, thank you for your creativity in smoothie making

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  January 7, 2012 at 13:32
  
  AWW, thank you so much Kalie, you have just made my day! So glad you like my smoothies. I think when you try the gingerbread one, you’ll have yet another new favorite! To this day, it has remained my ultimate favorite. Mind you, the pear one… oh, and the apple cheesecake… I also make an apple cranberry, which I LOOOOVE but never posted. Hmmm… maybe I should get busy doing that.
  
  Thanks for your lovely comment. You truly made my day!
  
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kalie
January 7, 2012 at 09:21

ps, i am googling how to grow mint indoors right now, i plan on making that many mint smoothies haha

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Erin @ Texanerin Baking
February 21, 2012 at 13:00

Oh no. Another recipe that I ignored because of the raw eggs! I suppose I could just leave them out and add some more milk or something. I have everything I need except for the mint leaves! But does this taste like spinach? I mean, really, no spinach taste at all?

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- Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
  February 21, 2012 at 15:29
  
  This doesn’t taste like spinach at all, Erin. You might get a slight feeling of their presence because of the texture, but serioulsy, they are very well hidden in that smoothie. As for the egg whites, you got it. Just plain leave them out of add a little more milk. I personally use them for a little bit of added protein… but they are totally optional!
  
  I really hope you try that one, Erin. If you, of all people, like it, then I think I should market and sell this thing. I’d make a fortune!
  
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  - Erin @ Texanerin Baking
    February 21, 2012 at 15:42
    
    Thanks for the texture warning!
    
    I won’t say that I’m going to make it. I’ve decided not to do that anymore for recipes that have what I think are weird combinations. So if I do make it, one day you will just wake up with a nice glowing review of this recipe and not be worried if this picky eater will like it or not.
    
    I was actually thinking today that you might think, “Oh no! Erin found this recipe! She hates everything.” No more of that.
  - Sonia, The Healthy Foodie
    February 22, 2012 at 12:57
    
    LOL! You’re nuts Erin, but that’s why I love you so much. Hey, knowing you and where you are coming from, to have you not care much for one of my recipes is never an insult, but to have you like one, or even LOVE one is always such a great honour. So don’t ever stop trying them or giving me your feedback, alright? I always appreciate to no end (even though I take forever to get back to you sometimes… I still have to get working on that last email you sent!) And hey, just the mere fact that you would TRY some of my recipes, that you would WANT to improve the diversity of your diet means A LOT to me. So don’t ever think that I don’t want you discovering a recipe. I want you to discover them all and try all those that inspire you. And one last thing. Thanks a million for being such a loyal reader and active commenter. You are awesome, girlfriend. AWESOME!
  - Erin @ Texanerin Baking
    February 22, 2012 at 14:59
    
    Well in that case, I bought lots of fresh mint today and I’m making this smoothie as soon as I get home from work tomorrow! It was killing me not to say that! And hehe. No need to say thank you for commenting and all. It’s fun.
    
    Oh, and if someone told me that they didn’t like the texture of one of my recipes (even if it was because of their dislike for one of the ingredients and not because of the recipe) I would still feel really sad. I want everyone to love everything and it’s hard to accept that this isn’t how it works.
    
    Guess what?! I bought chickpea flour today. After making the truffles I decided that I could deal with chickpea flavor. Just though I’d throw that in there.
Charlie
February 22, 2012 at 12:57

Sonia:
Love the smoothie.
Thank you for sharing.

Charlie

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