This is one of the best green drinks I’ve ever made. Now that I’ve had it, there’s no going back.

I like to have a green smoothie at least once a week for breakfast. It makes my insides feel good and it makes up for the amount of sugar I consume everyday.

Usually I toss some spinach or kale, frozen pineapple, banana, and an avocado into a blender with almond milk and call it a day. But lately, I’ve gotten more creative.

I’ve always wanted to try a mint chocolate chip combo so this morning, I made my dream a reality. I used cacao nibs instead of chocolate chips because I had a bunch on hand, and I used fresh mint leaves. You could use mint extract but I’d *highly* recommend springing for the leaves. It gives the smoothie more of a real mint flavor and less of a toothpaste vibe.

I’m really happy with the way this smoothie turned out. I added a generous helping of maple syrup to the mix before I blended but it was worth it. The sweetness made the smoothie more like a shake and less like a green juice.

The cacao nibs are also key. You can use dark chocolate or semi-sweet chocolate chips too, but adding a bunch makes a difference. At one point, I forgot that I was drinking a green smoothie, which is the tell-tale sign of a good green juice.

So yeah. I’d recommend that you make this smoothie as soon as possible. It might not be the first thing that you want on a cold winter morning but after you taste it, you’ll change your mind. It’s refreshing and energizing so it’s a good anecdote to mornings when you wake up and it’s cloudy and you wish you were at the beach.

Here’s a song that I’ve been listening to the past few days. Paste just put out a list of the best songs in 2017 and this was one of them. Even though “Baybee” is my favorite Jay Som tune, this one is a close second.

Vegan Shamrock Smoothie

Ingredients

1 cup kale leaves
1 avocado, pitted and skin removed
1 cup almond milk
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 banana
8 mint leaves, plus a few for topping
1/4 cup cacao nibs, plus more for topping

Directions

Blend the kale, avocado, almond milk, cacao nibs, maple syrup, banana, and eight mint leaves in a blender on high until smooth. Top with more mint leaves and cacao nibs. Enjoy!