Mint Chip Smoothie

I worked on this recipe all summer last year, I needed to replicate what I was tasting in juice bars in order to create "mint chocolate chip" but healthy of course. After working at Rancho La Puerta and  completing their summer juice and smoothie menu, I realized I couldn't get the flavor profile I wanted without the banana and date combo. Try this on a summer day, and boy does it take you back to the good ol minty chocolate ice cream, but WAY healthier of course.

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk

2 dates

1/2 each banana

1 cup spinach

1 T cacao nibs

1 tsp peppermint extract, (you can use fresh peppermint but it changes the consistency) 

1 T cacao powder

1 scoop protein powder, I recommend Designer Protein plant based for its texture

1 handful ice

add green powder optional for an added immune boost

Method:

Add all ingredients except nibs in a high-speed blender and blend well. Add nibs then pulse to get that chocolate chip consistency! 

NOTE: this does contain a lot of sugar (dates and banana) so you can omit one of them and add stevia for lower sugar content.