Healthy Shamrock Shake was originally posted on Chocolate Covered Katie.
A small McDonalds shamrock shake will set you back 530 calories and 73 grams of sugar! Do your health a favor, and make your own delicious and healthy Shamrock Shakes at home. The popular McDonalds Shamrock Shakes, besides being full of empty calories and sugar, are also filled with chemical ingredients, additives, and potentially-dangerous food dyes. Making your own healthy shamrock shakes at home is a MUCH better option – It takes under five minutes to make, uses natural ingredients to get that beautiful bright green hue, and it has NO refined sugar whatsoever.
This healthy Shamrock Shake recipe is also way under 500 calories! Enjoy!
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We are all programed to like sugar but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to overcome your sugar addiction! New research shows some of us are genetically much more prone to crave sugar than others. The science demonstrating that people can be biologically addicted to sugar in the same way we can be addicted to heroin, cocaine or nicotine. Bingeing and addictive behaviors are eerily similar in alcoholics and sugar addicts. It seems that we all vary a bit in our capacity for pleasure. Some us need a lot more stimulation to feel pleasure driving us to a range of addictive pleasures that stimulate our reward center in the brain – drug and alcohol addictions, compulsive gambling, sex addiction and, of course, sugar, food addiction and compulsive eating. We often see these as moral failures or results of character defects. In fact, it may be that addicts are simply born with unfortunate genetic variations in our reward and pleasure mechanisms.Even if you are stuck with the sugar addiction gene (yes, there really is such a thing!) you may be able to modify its activity by modulating your brain chemistry with the use of specific nutrients that either improve gene expression, or modify the activity of these genes. Regulation of hormones and neurotransmitters that affect appetite and cravings is complex and involves many factors including how quickly food spikes our blood sugar, stress levels, getting enough sleep, nutritional deficiencies, chemicals such as artificial sweeteners, and food sensitivities which drive inflammation.
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Healthy Shamrock Shake
- 1 large Banana overripe, peeled and frozen
- cacao nibs or chocolate chips
- 1/8 to 1/4 tsp pure peppermint extract
- up to 1 cup coconut milk
- 1/4 cup frozen spinach optional
Blend all ingredients in a blender until completely smooth, using anywhere from 2/3 cup to 1 cup milk, depending on desired thickness. Make sure the banana you use is at least somewhat brown, so you don’t get that unripe earthy banana flavor in your mint chocolate shake!
You can add the chocolate either before or after blending. Be sure to use pure peppermint extract, not imitation.
* These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The product mentioned in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information in this article is not intended to replace any recommendations or relationship with your physician. Please review references sited at end of article for scientific support of any claims made.
Author: Dr. Jill C. Carnahan, MD, ABIHM, IFMCP
https://www.jillcarnahan.com/ Dr. Jill is Your Functional Medicine Expert! She uses functional medicine to help you find answers to the cause of your illness and addresses the biochemical imbalances that may be making you feel ill. She'll help you search for underlying triggers contributing to your illness through cutting edge lab testing and tailor the intervention to your specific needs as an individual. She may use diet, supplements, lifestyle changes or medication to treat your illness but will seek the most gentle way to help your body restore balance along with the least invasive treatment possible. Dr. Jill is a functional medicine expert consultant and treats environmental and mold-related illness as well
Sounds so yummy! What’s a good low-Oxalate version for those of us missing the beneficial bacteria that break down Oxalator?
I second this persons ask! I know to avoid the spinach (a high oxalate food), but any other suggestions?
you may substitute a lower oxalate leafy green