Slimmed Down St. Patricks Shamrock Shake

With both of us being Irish, we always look forward to St. Patricks Day so to get in the mood, I tried making a healthier version of the holiday staple, the coveted Shamrock Shake. Did you guys know that a small size from McD's will rob you of 530 calories and 73 grams of sugar!? That is more than double the amount of the recommended sugar in your daily intake. So instead of skipping this tasty treat all together, I figured I'd do some research and my fellow bloggers did not let me down...I used this recipe from Blender Babes and it was deeelish! Might be one of my new everyday favorites, I loved the taste of mint.

Here's what you need:

• ½ cup milk (I used almond)
• 1 frozen banana, sliced
• 2 drops mint essential oil OR ¼ teaspoon mint extract OR ½ cup fresh mint leaves
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon stevia powder (1 packet) or a few drops of liquid Stevia
• 1 cup spinach
• 1 scoop vanilla protein powder
• 1 cup ice

...and I added a sprinkle of chopped Andes mints because everyone needs a little chocolate ;) Throw all ingredients in your blender (I love my Vitamix) in the order listed above and enjoy!

P.S. I keep my BallyFin Demense magazine out year round as a reminder of our trip...If you are ever looking for a once in a lifetime hotel (*castle) experience in Ireland, this is it. One of the testimonials on their site states, "it feels like a house party from Downton Abbey." It's true, take a look at the photos to see for yourself...We look back at ours often to remember how filled with magic life can actually be. But seriously, can we reflect back on this moment? Best...trip...ever.

What are your plans for St. Patricks Day? We have our annual Family party this weekend complete with corn beef, green river and irish beers (which sadly, I will watch everyone drink from afar!) What are your favorite St. Pats recipes?

Peaked My Pinterest: Healthy Chicken Salad

I have been on a huge Chicken Salad kick lately - It all started with amazing version I ordered at Jam N Jelly which was made with honey yogurt dressing and I'm not exaggerating when I say it was the best chicken salad I've ever had. 

Really though, the power of words does not do this delicious meal justice -- my cousin and I ordered the same meal that day and talked about it incessantly. I'm pretty sure the rest of our family that we were with was amazed that we were still talking about this meal an hour later...

I loved the idea of substituting mayo for Greek yogurt so I decided to try a similar recipe as an appetizer for our first block party and the recipe was a big hit!

I typically prefer green grapes, but for some reason, red ones always taste so good in chicken salad, right?

This food processor from the Pampered Chef is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It's great for chopping and so easy - you just drop in the ingredients and blades chop, slice and blend ingredients in seconds. The more you pump, the finer it cuts so this was perfect for the almonds and celery.

The dressing is the best part: Greek yogurt, honey & a little dijon mustard

 Thinly sliced apples can serve as the "base" for the salad - a healthy bite size snack

Do you have any great twists on chicken salad recipes? I'd love to try!

Just Because,

Kaitlyn