Green is a color that I happen to love for food; All of those vibrant shades ranging from lime to emerald are more than welcome on my plate, and the more intense that hue, the better it tends to taste. Certain veggie-phobic people that I may or may not know (*cough* my sister *cough*) would disagree, but I think that anything can be lovely through green-tinted glasses. It’s when that color is added as an after thought, however, that things could get a bit dicey.
Every year of my compulsory education for the week surrounding St. Patrick’s day, a myriad of edibles would be dyed unnatural shades of the most unappealing puke-green, causing more concern than delight as intended. Seriously, green, moldy-looking bagels? Drab olive-tinted milk, hinting at spoilage? No thanks, I’ll wait until I get home to eat!
Thus, the appeal of the “legendary” Shamrock Shake failed to register, and it’s hard to understand what all the hubbub is about. Still, the idea of a mint smoothie struck a chord, as mint has been one of my latest obsessions. So refreshing and invigorating, mint has been sneaking into my desserts left and right, so why not a drink to shake* things up a bit?
*I swear, I only noticed the pun after typing it!
Unlike the artificial-everything monstrosity available at certain fast food franchises, my shake takes on its color naturally, thanks to a helping of matcha. Mint and matcha were meant to be together in my opinion, with the bright, clean flavor of mint accentuating and working well with the bitterness of matcha. By no means is this drink bitter, though- Maple syrup sweetens things quite nicely, although you could substitute agave if cost is a concern.
I may not be even of .001% Irish descent or know the first thing about St. Patrick’s Day, but I’m still celebrating in my own small way, putting festive green foods back on the menu, naturally.
Shamrock Shake
Make your own shamrock shakes from scratch with a natural green hue, thanks to a hearty pinch of matcha powder. Even better than the original inspiration, clean mint flavor and light sweetness serves to accentuate and harmonize with the bitterness of matcha.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Plain Non-Dairy Milk
- 1/4 Cup Maple Syrup
- 2 Teaspoons Matcha
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1/4 Teaspoon Mint Extract
Instructions
- Place everything into your blender and let it rip. Once the mixture is homogeneous, pour half of it into ice cube trays and set that on an even surface in your freezer. Allow it to freeze completely, about 3 – 4 hours. Once frozen, return the smoothie cubes and reserved liquid to the blender, and process once more. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
2Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 236Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 20mgSodium: 120mgCarbohydrates: 40gFiber: 0gSugar: 37gProtein: 8g
Thank you for some natural green! It’s much appreciated, and this shake looks fabulous!
YUM!
You are amazing! This smoothie looks just so delicious and refreshing. Perfect!
I’ll have to try this out. I love mint shakes, but haven’t had one in years.
the colour is absolutely fantastic. I love matcha and i think it should be great shacked with mint and maple syrup
kisses
fra
LOVELY & WHOLESOME!!
Perfect for tomorrow and the Irish Whiskey cupcakes I’ll be making!!! That color is fantastic :)
That looks delicious! The colour is amazing.
Wow that looks so professional :) And its non-alcoholic so I’ve got to try this one :)
I’ve never thought of a mint smoothie, it sounds great! I love the colour too.
I “discovered” mint in smoothies last summer when my garden went crazy with mint and I just had to do something with it! I ended up drinking them throughout the summer. Yours looks much more elegant and festive–perfect for St. Pattie’s!
i have never had matcha!!! it sounds delicious!
Very festive!
It looks very elegant!
I usually agree with the distaste of the unnaturally green products that creep up around st. paddy’s day, but one that I could never turn away from is a minty grasshopper cocktail. I love your idea of adding matcha though to give it a more natural feel… now I wonder: crème de cacao, crème de menthe, matcha, milk? I can’t wait to give it a shot :)
Imagine my alarm when I learned that a lot of artificial food coloring comes from coal tar! I had the same thought about making stuff green naturally- I SO wanted to make a kale cupcake or something -LOL! Happy St. Patty’s Day, Hannah!
It’s nice to see something that’s naturally green after watching people chug green beer and eat green muffins all weekend! I’ve never used matcha before, so I should seek it out!
So Pretty! :)
It looks delicious! mmm
beautiful smoothie! i have to admit, i was a sucker for those shamrock shakes as a kid… thank goodness you’ve made it even better for me to enjoy!
that is a beautiful picture.. and the shake sounds great!
This looks really good!
This sounds so good! I’ve gotten the Matcha shakes with soy milk from Starbucks a few times and while I really like the idea, they are way too sweet. This sounds like it will do the trick especially once Portland starts to heat up this summer.
I love this! Green is so pretty, and I love how natural this sounds. Thanks for sharing!
fantastic photo! so solourful! Sounds good too ;)
This looks delicious Hannah! Mint is a lovely and fresh addition!
It looks minty-good!
I would beg my parents for a Shamrock shake every year. I’ve never had mint and green tea together. I have to try this.
I <3 your creativity amony every little holiday- maybe you can craft a little leprecauhn* or smiling sharerock for the fun of it!? :) I want to make something green festive that’s edible tomorrow- trying to get some inspiration! I just got manderine matchta tea from my local health food store- it’s amazing! Now if I can find the powder, I will try to make that “green tea trismiu” from My Sweet Vegan! ;D
That shake sounds great- I never thought of mint with matcha powder! And you’re totally right- it sounds much better than artificially-dyed green foods….
This sounds great! I did like those scary chemical shakes as a kid – this is a much better subtitute!
I totally forgot today is SPD, and totally forgot about Shamrock Shakes…I think there is still time today to make these for my kids…minus the Matcha for this kids…plus some Bailey’s for mom! Thanks!
I don’t have any matcha, but I’m sure tempted by this pretty shake! It’s so green!
This looks delicious! The maple syrup sounds like it will be a perfect sweetner… now I want to go buy some matcha.
I’ve never had the matcha and mint combination! I loooove matcha powder though but I never know what to use it in. I am definitely going to try out this recipe. I used the matcha in oatmeal once and I accidently put far too much in.. it was awful :(
oh i used to love shamrock shakes in my pre-vegan days!! something about mint in shake form is just darn refreshing. I really want to try this the next chance i get…i think i might throw in a scoop or two of vanilla soy dream to make it nice and thick and cold! woo hooo!
I’ve been into smoothies lately, so this will be a welcome change from the fruity variety! I happen to love ALL things mint—-but I’m with you on the green milk thing. Even green beer grosses me out! Bagels, I can tolerate, so long as the spread isn’t green! :)
for a second I thought it was going to have kale in it or something – but matcha is way more your style, yep! and looks delicious! I’ll have to try that ice cube idea, too.
I love mint it’s so refreshing and I just happened to come home from the Asian grocery store with green tea powder today! This drink looks perfect. Hopefully it will work with almond milk :)
what a great idea! I love the addition of matcha.