When I saw the ingredient list for Chick-fil-A’s famous holiday drink, the Peppermint Chip Milkshake, I could not believe my eyes. There are so many artificial ingredients in there and the list is a mile long. It’s insanity! Of course I can’t keep this information to myself, so check it out for yourself:
Just one Chick-fil-A Peppermint Chip Shake has a whopping 93 GRAMS of sugar.
That is crazy…
This is equivalent to pouring 23 packets of sugar into your coffee…
Or eating 9 Krispy Kreme glazed donuts…
Or eating a dozen fun-size Snickers. Yikes.
It’s a lot easier to consume that much sugar when you are drinking it – and before you know it you will be on a sugar-high, crash and burn, like no other!
Refined Sugar is toxic. Plain and simple. It wreaks havoc on our bodies. Makes us age faster than we should. Destroys our skin. Makes it easy to carry a spare tire around our bellies and taxes our organs. And, it is very addicting.
Chick-fil-A’s Peppermint Chip Milkshake is packed with several other controversial ingredients:
❌ CARRAGEENAN: A thickener and emulsifier linked to digestive issues and cancer.
❌ CELLULOSE GUM: This thickener is usually made from wood, because it’s cheap. Research links consumption of this additive (not naturally occurring in whole food) to weight gain, inflammation and digestive problems.
❌ SODIUM PHOSPHATE: Preservative can lead to excessive levels of phosphate in the blood and puts you at risk of chronic kidney disease, increased mortality, heart disease, and accelerated aging.
❌ POTASSIUM SORBATE: This preservative has been shown to be genotoxic to white blood cells, which could lead to cancer.
❌ RED 40: Artificial color derived from petroleum, linked to several health issues, including allergies and hyperactivity in children, which require a warning label in Europe. May also be contaminated with carcinogens, such as benzidine.
If you do one thing this holiday season – avoid holiday death traps like this shake.
It baffles me how food companies and restaurants fill their food with the WORST possible ingredients in the name of the holidays! The holidays shouldn’t be an excuse to poison the public. Thankfully, you can still enjoy delicious festive goodies without junky ingredients.
To prove it to you, here’s how to make a deliciously frosty “Chick-Fil-A” Peppermint Chip Milkshake with only 4 ingredients!
To avoid artificial ingredients, you need to choose your ingredients carefully…
- Ice Cream: You can use either dairy or non-dairy ice cream to make this recipe. You’ll want to choose organic to avoid artificial ingredients and dairy from cows that were fed GMO feed, antibiotics, and potentially given synthetic hormones. I tried this recipe with both coconut ice cream and dairy, and actually preferred the coconut milk version. Some good brands include Coconut Bliss or Straus Organic (dairy). Even better, make your own coconut ice cream with this recipe. Simply add vanilla extract to make vanilla flavor.
- Dark Chocolate: I used Hu Gems to make this recipe, which is organic vegan dark chocolate that is sweetened with unrefined coconut sugar instead of refined white sugar. You could also use chopped dark chocolate bars, but choose organic versions as these won’t come from cocoa beans sprayed with toxic synthetic pesticides and also won’t contain artificial ingredients.
- Milk: Again, you can use dairy or non-dairy here. Choosing organic is important, for the same reasons that you want to choose organic ice cream. I like to use organic coconut milk, which I make myself by blending a BPA-free can of Native Forest culinary coconut milk with 4 cups filtered water.
- Peppermint Extract: Make sure to buy “extract” and not “flavoring”. An extract is made with alcohol and peppermint oil, but always check the ingredient list to confirm it doesn’t contain unnecessary additives. I like to choose organic such as Whole Foods or Thrive Market brands.
Make it pink!
If you want your shake to be pink, you can add a bit of natural food coloring or organic Hibiscus Powder. This will give it a more authentic “Chick-Fil-A” look without the artificial colors!
Make it vegan!
You can easily make this milkshake vegan and dairy-free by using coconut ice cream, coconut milk and dairy-free chocolate.
This recipe makes two servings. Simply blend all the ingredients together and share with a friend!
- 1½ cups vanilla ice cream (coconut or dairy)
- ¼ cup coconut milk or dairy milk, more as needed
- 3 tablespoons chopped dark chocolate
- ½ teaspoon peppermint extract, more as desired
- Place all of the ingredients in a high-powered blender and blend until smooth. Top with homemade whip cream and a cherry, if desired.
If you like more of a peppermint taste increase to 1 teaspoon peppermint extract.
If you want your shake to be pink, you can add a bit of natural red coloring or organic Hibiscus Powder.
See how easy that is?
Who knows…maybe someday restaurants like Chick-fil-A will start creating holiday treats that are actually made with real food!
Until then – If you know someone who loves Chick-fil-A’s Peppermint Chip Milkshake, please share this recipe with them and spread the word that there’s now an easy way to make it at home without artificial ingredients.
Xo,
Vani
