Double Chocolate Protein Shamrock Shake

St. Patrick's day is fast approaching and to get in the spirit I made my version of a shamrock shake.  I have never had the McDonald's shamrock shake (and I plan on keeping it that way), but I know it's a mint flavored milkshake that is dyed green.  With that in mind, I added chocolate because chocolate and mint is a wonderful combination, hemp protein powder so I can eat this any time of the day and not feel horrible after, and raw brownie chunks because, brownie chunks!  Like I used in my brownie bananza blizzard, this shake's base is unsweetened almond milk and a frozen banana so my version is much healthier while just as tasty!

Ok, so my shake is not exactly colored green.  If you don't add the cocoa powder it will naturally come out green because of the hemp protein, but I like the added chocolate flavor.  I love how the hemp protein naturally dies the shake green as opposed to using chemical dye to do the job.  Why eat artificial when nature has that covered?  The hemp powder adds an additional ten grams of protein, so overall you are getting over eighteen grams of plant based protein per shake, plus these other health benefits!  This shake makes a great post-workout snack as well as after-dinner treat!

I don't add any additional sweetener to this shake because I freeze extremely ripe bananas and find it plenty sweet, but feel free to add a touch of your favorite natural sweetener if you have more of a sweet tooth.  I'm thinking I'm going to be drinking this on St. Patricks day instead of beer: I'm more of a wine girl (ok, I'm DEFIANTLY a wine girl). Another option is to make this before, during, or after beer...in which case your shamrock shake will start to look like this.  Drink up!

Double Chocolate Protein Shamrock Shake
vegan, gluten-free

1 ripe banana, frozen and cut into chunks
1/2-3/4 cups unsweetened almond milk (or soy milk)
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp hemp protein powder
2 tsp cacao powder
1 raw brownie, cut into chunks
1-2 tsp lucuma powder or natural sweetener of choice (optional)
few drops of peppermint extract

Directions:
1.  Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth.  Start with 1/2 a cup of milk and slowly add more until desired consistency is reached.  Enjoy!