Minty Chocolate Smoothie

This heat wave is melting my brain and making cooking oh-so-unappealing.  The other night I came home with no interest in cooking and a powerful craving for mint.I pondered it as I had some Twin Oaks Tofu topped with pesto, and decided to try this smoothie combination. Unlike my other smoothies, there is no protein powder or seeds involved, so it is more like a runny milkshake – a chocolate minty shake, with 3 cups of spinach. I swear it works. 

Minty Chocolate Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free) – Make 2 10oz smoothies

• 1/3 cup coconut milk
• 1 cup water (you could also use coconut water)
• 3-4 Tbsps raw cacao
• 1/4 tsp mint extract (Simply Organics is supposed to be gluten-free, though the label does not reflect it. Flavorganics is definitely gluten-free)
• 1/8 tsp plain liquid stevia
• 3 cups fresh spinach, washed
• 4-8 ice cubes

Blend all ingredients together. 

Note: I use a high-speed blender so I just throw everything in the Vita, but if you have a regular blender, you might want to blend the spinach and water  together first, and then add the remaining ingredients. 

I am submitting this to the Monthly Gluten-Free Challenge, created and hosted by Linda of the Gluten-Free Homemaker – the focus this month is beverages, and submissions are accepted every Wednesday as part of Gluten-Free Wednesday.  If you are interested in additional smoothie recipes, here are a few from my archives:

• Apple Bok Choy Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Carob Mint Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Chocolate Milkshake Smoothie with Hidden Spinach (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Chocolate Raspberry Smoothie with Hidden Spinach (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Green Smoothie with Collard Greens (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• No-Banana Green Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Pink-Top Carob Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Red White & Blue Smoothie (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Spicy Hot Chocolate (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)
• Super Quick Green Smoothie with Spinach (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free) 
• Wake-Up Smoothie with Collard Greens (Gluten-Free, Vegan, Soy-Free)

I am also submitting this recipe to the following weekly events starting with:

A new weekly event, which kicked off a couple of weeks ago and is just for summer, hosted by  Ricki of Diet, Desserts and Dogs, Summer Wellness Weekends. The concept behind Summer Wellness Weekends is “any good-for-you, whole foods, especially those with antioxidant properties or “functional foods” (ie, offering naturally medicinal or health-promoting qualities–such as garlic, coconut oil, all vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc.).”  Spinach and raw cacao are antioxidant central, so this recipe covers it. Also,

Real Sustenance’s Seasonal Sunday event – since spinach is seasonal to summer, this recipe fits.

A blog event hosted by Flip Cookbook called Sugar Free Sunday, which includes sweet and savory dishes made with non-refined sugars.

Slightly Indulgent Tuesday with Amy of Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free – chocolate and raspberries is one of my favorite indulgent combinations.

Real Food Weekly with Diane of The WHOLE Gang.

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