Hi friends!  Happy FRIDAY!! Woot woot!

I can’t remember the last time I was able to write a post on a Friday! But I wanted to get this one to you in time for the weekend, especially if you are hosting a happy hour anytime soon.  Allow me to explain…

There is a restaurant in Denver called the Samba Room that has THE best mojitos.  My favorite is the Pineapple Mojito.  Unfortunately they taste SO good because they are so sugary and aren’t very friendly to the waistline!  (And usually after I have a couple I might have the tendency to not give a hoot about apps either and consume way too many food calories to boot!)

Over the 4th of July weekend I was at the library (because we all know I do not need is MORE books…!) and I happened to see this great little gem:

Super-Charged Smoothies by Mary Corpening Barber and Sara Corpening Whiteford.

And what do I find in the section for Grown Up Smoothies?  A Pineapple Mojito Slush!  Oh my!  You can bet I ran right on down to the store for some club soda, mint and frozen pineapples.  I had the all the rest.  (I’ve contacted the publisher for permission to reprint the recipe and am awaiting a reply.  In the meantime, I’ve found it at Scribd, click here and scroll down to page 7.)

In the words of my cousin Kevin:  GOSH. DARN. DELICIOUS.

MSP thought it could be lighter on the mint, so for our second batch I only added half of the mint leaves and it was still amazing.  And in future batches I’ll experiment with stevia in lieu of agave.

I’ll be serving this to guests in the future.  It’s a cocktail I can feel good about!

But wait … there’s more!!

So while I was sitting at my desk yesterday afternoon, I was craving one.  And I’m not really in the habit of mixing up frozen alcoholic drinks when I’m home alone and working.  :D   (No really!)  So I figured why not take this one step further and tweak this into a MOJITO protein shake (or as I like to call it, a PROJITO)?

Into the blender went:

  • 3/4 cup frozen pineapple (about 140g)
  • 1/2 scoop vanilla protein powder of your choice (for me it’s Jay Robb sprouted brown rice – half a scoop gives me about 12g protein)
  • 4 fresh mint leaves
  • squeeze of lime juice
  • 1/2 packet of stevia (or to taste, optional)
  • 8 oz can club soda + 4 oz water

Mmmm.  150 calories, 12g protein, 25g carbs and 0.25 of a gram of fat.  Can be enjoyed anytime of day without the stigma of “drinking alone”!  ;)

Let me know if you try either version!

Have a FABULOUS FRIDAY friends!

– Shari B. =)

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