Day Seventy-Five- 3/16/11 Make a Homemade Healthy Shamrock Shake

Day Seventy-Five: 3/16/11
New Thing: Making a Homemade Healthy Shamrock Shake        
Inspiration: The Shamrock Shake, St. Patrick, Krista and Matt       
Cost: about $3? 
Time: A few minuets         
Bottom Line: It is not exactly a shamrock shake, but it was still minty fresh.

Reflection: If you would ask me if I eat fast food I would tell you that I have only had salads at those places since I was in high school and that it is toxin--delicious, tasty, toxin. (ok- maybe a fry when ever I can sneak one from Ken.) HOWEVER, there is one very notable exception to this rule. Once every year, after somehow managing to slog through the 11 other non-notable shake months (they are only available to us mortals in March), humanity gets blessed with the wonderful concoction knows only as the McDonald Shamrock Shake. Never has there been a treat so green, so refreshingly minty, so upright and just as the Shamrock Shake. Legend has it that St. Patrick himself use this very nectar of the gods to lure the snakes out of Ireland. In my youth, I would have at least one a week during March, lest I let the holy season pass me by. In college, my RA's and I used to have our staff meetings gathered around a round of the shakes since we all shared a mutual joy and affection for the comforts found only in those wax covered fast-food cups. March indeed brought green bliss.

And then--disaster. One year, I foolishly read the nutritional information about the shake and just could not enjoy it as much knowing that it had something like 600 calories and tons of sugar. Especially since these come around in Lent and are the exact antithesis of a fast. Life somehow sparkled a little less brightly after that.

Yet, like a phoenix rising from the flames, there may still be hope for lovers of this drink! My friend from college, Krista, who also loves these (I think we used her freezer once to by two at the same time and save one for the next day without making another trip) had a recipe for a healthy version of these created by her husband. So, today I tried it out and had it as a recovery drink after my workout, sharing it Ken and Delia. I used non-fat yogurt, skim-milk, ice, a little bit of powdered protein, green food coloring, and mint-extract. It was a little to minty, and was not really a Shamrock Shake in truth. But it was pretty yummy.

Lenten Meditation- 

Prayed for: SL-M, ML-G, DCM (my Godson)

Prayer Walk/Yoga- Today after my weight training, I felt like I needed more stretching. So, I lived in the moment and did some extra yoga. I also plan to walk around the historic section of Bethlehem. 

Journal Topic with Ken- An exercise called, "The Peas"

Music-30 mins. with the violin--this week I am dedicating the music to Irish music- All jigs and reels!

Fast- Moderation continue, however, I am finding that it is not really the moderate eating I mind, but it is the portion control that will often go unnoticed unless I engage in non-mindless eating.