Mint Avocado Cacao Smoothie

Today's smoothie was inspired by two people. I recently visited my sister in Florida. We had a great time making food. She makes a delicious mint ice cream using avocados. The ice cream has been on my mind, but it's still too cold in Minnesota to be thinking seriously about eating ice cream, especially with the four to six inches of snow we got last night. Then yesterday I got a blog post from Heather at sweetlyraw.com/2013/04/mint-chip-protein-shake.html that got me thinking mint again. I had also recently made a mint smoothie for St. Patrick's Day because that day always makes me think of the Shamrock Shakes of my youth. So with those things in mind but not all the ingredients of the recipes on hand, I came up with this:

1 avocado
1/2 c. coconut milk
4 medjool dates
1 scoop raw vanilla protein powder ( I used Garden of Life Vanilla Raw Meal)
1 to 2 drops peppermint extract
1 T. cacao nibs
1 tray of ice cubes

Blend ingredients. Pour into glasses and sprinkle with cacao nibs. Enjoy.

Please check out Heather's raw dessert blog, Sweetly Raw, for an even more beautiful recipe for a mint shake. I love the idea of spinach in her smoothie, but I used the last of mine on yesterday's drink. Her recipe is a lovelier shade of green than mine. She uses fresh mint, which I didn't have. Fresh mint is much better than extract, in my opinion, but sometimes you have to use what's on hand. I  like her use of ice cubes, which I also  use in a chocolate shake I make. Ice cubes really lend a fluffiness to smoothies.  The visual pleasure notwithstanding, the taste of the smoothie I made is delicious and filling. Use peppermint extract sparingly. It gets overpowering really fast.

Off to shovel this springtime snow. Unbelievable. Truly.