Beverage
This super simple smoothies post is sponsored by Silk.
Did I tell you what supremely dumb thing I let happen when we were packing up our house and moving out at whirlwind speed? I stopped supervising for approximately 30 seconds and let the box with my beloved Blendtec get packed into our POD instead of the easy access storage unit I could get to at any time. OOPS. That may not sound significant, but for someone who uses a blender 3,495 times per day, that was a huge mistake.
Never fear, my mother-in-law’s well-stocked kitchen included a blender, though I will be oh so happy to be reunited with my own personal powerhouse of a blender when the time comes.
Anyways, today we’re talking smoothies. I don’t know who likes smoothies more, me or the three year old blur that rules these parts. Needless to say they happen a lot around here.
Smoothies are one of those things that sound like a good idea but also sound like a lot of work and a lot of mess, but when it actually comes to making them instead of just thinking about it, they’re a breeze. Over the course of several thousand smoothie-making sessions, I’ve come up with a few strategies that make things super simple. Easy prep, easy to make, and easy clean up.
Here we go:
1. Smoothie cubes. Probably my most favorite smoothie shortcut of all time. I make a giant batch of smoothie “base”, then freeze it into ice cube trays. Once they’re frozen, I pop them out on put them in baggies. Then when you want a smoothie, you can just pull a bag out, dump it in the blender, and you’re done. You can either leave the smoothie as is, in “base” form, or add whatever other ingredients you’re feeling at the time. I typically do a spinach base, then add whatever we have on hand that I’m in the mood for. I’m always in the mood for spinach though.
2. Smoothie bags. Similar to the above, but even less prep: just dump all your favorite smoothie ingredients into individual freezer bags. Label them and store them, then just dump and go. Frozen fruit makes for a great textured smoothie!
3. Up the protein. I don’t always want extra protein in my smoothie, but when I do, there are a ton of fun ways to make it happen that go beyond your basic protein powder. {Although a good vanilla or chocolate protein powder can add great flavor.} Next time you’re looking to kick the protein factor up a notch, try one of these great add ins:
- hemp seeds
- quinoa
- pumpkin seeds
- nut butter
- cashews
4. Make it creamy. There’s nothing wrong with an icy-smoothie, but I prefer creamier bases. This is super easy to do by adding in some plant-based milk. My favorite go-to’s are canned full-fat coconut milk and Silk Cashewmilk. {Have you tried the cashew version yet? It is so super creamy and blends really well. And makes delicious hot chocolate in the winter, which is when I discovered it this year.But it’s too hot for that now; I’ll stick to smoothies this summer.} My son’s favorite is Silk’s dairy-free yogurt, but he usually eats it before I can get it to the blender.
5. Easy clean up. I’ll admit, the clean up part of anything is my least favorite part, but it’s super easy to clean a blender. Just add some water into the pitcher with a tiny squirt of soap, then turn it on. It foams up the soap and gets all the gunk off the sides without any scrubbing. Voila, done.
What’s your favorite tip for making smoothie prep easy?
You can find more smoothie ideas, including low calorie and kid-friendly options on Silk’s Smoothie Solution page or sign up to receive Silk coupons here.
Some smoothie faves:
Key Lime Pie Smoothie
Cranberry Mango Smoothie
Summer Sunrise Smoothie
Peanut butter Hazelnut Protein Frappuccino
This conversation is sponsored by Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.
Breakfast, Recipe
There are trends for everything; fashion, colors, music, and even flavors. This past year’s dominating flavors? Cake batter, bacon, and Nutella. Just take a quick glance at Pinterest if you don’t believe me. It’s the Nutella one I’m interested in- dark chocolate-y, hazelnut gooeyness. Paired with my favorite baked breakfast of all time- cinnamon rolls- it’s sure to be a winner.
I tweaked my favorite whole wheat cinnamon roll recipe to make it dairy free, egg free, and soy free, then added the divine flavor combo of dark chocolate and toasted hazelnut. These dairy free cinnamon rolls are stuffed with not only rich brown sugar cinnamon filling, but every bite is loaded with melted dark chocolate. The toasted hazelnuts enhance the flavor of the chocolate and provide a surprise crunch with every mouthful. In case a dough filled with both chocolate and hazelnut wasn’t enough, I topped the cinnamon rolls with a chocolate ganache, hazelnut infused icing, and toasted chopped hazelnuts.
I keep hazelnut syrup on hand for my morning coffee addiction, but feel free to sub vanilla if you don’t have any. The hazelnut syrup gives the flavor an extra kick, but you won’t be missing out if you need to forego it.
by with a Side of Sneakers
Dough
- 1 c Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original
- 2 1/4 tsp instant yeast {or 1 packet}
- 2 1/2 c whole wheat or spelt flour {plus ¼ to ½ cup extra for kneading}
- 2 t baking powder
- 1/4 c sugar
- 1/4 t salt
- 1 t cinnamon
- ¼ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup dark chocolate (vegan/dairy free) chips
- Optional: 1 Tbsp hazelnut syrup
Filling
- 3 Tbsp vegan/dairy free margarine/butter
- 1/4 c brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped
Icing
- ½ c powdered sugar
- 1/2 Tbsp almond milk
- 1/4 tsp hazelnut syrup or vanilla
Chocolate
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 Tbsp vegan/dairy free margarine/butter
Heat almond milk for about 40 seconds in the microwave- you want it warm, but not scalding hot. Stir in yeast and set aside.
Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, cinnamon, applesauce, and hazelnut syrup, if using.
Add in almond milk and yeast mixture. Stir or mix in electric mixture until dough comes together. It’s ok if it’s still a little bit sticky at this point.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Spread a clean, flat surface with flour. Adding flour as necessary to prevent sticking, knead dough until it forms a nice smooth & slightly elastic ball.
Using a rolling pin, spread the dough into a rectangle. I usually end up with dough about 1/2 inch thick.
Melt margarine or butter and stir in brown sugar and cinnamon.
Spread the cinnamon sugar mixture liberally over the rolled out dough. Top with hazelnuts.
Starting from the skinny end of the dough rectangle, roll the dough tightly towards the other end.
Slice the roll into ~1-1 1/2 inch strips, discarding the ends if necessary.
Grease a 9×9 baking dish and line rolls in pan. Cover with plastic wrap or foil and refrigerate overnight.
When you’re ready to bake your cinnamon rolls, preheat the oven to 350 degrees and let the rolls come to room temperature.
Bake cinnamon buns for 20-25 minutes.
While cinnamon rolls cool, prepare icing and chocolate mixtures. To prepare icing, combine powdered sugar, almond milk, and hazelnut or vanilla. Stir until smooth. To prepare chocolate, melt margarine or butter, then stir in chocolate chips. Heat in microwave a few seconds at a time until chocolate melts enough to blend smoothly.
Pour icing and chocolate over cinnamon rolls.
Top with toasted hazelnuts.
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These dairy free nutella cinnamon rolls may sound absolutely sinful, but they’re not as decadent as they sound. Each gigantic cinnamon roll provides 278 calories, 5.5 grams of fiber, and 7 g of protein- that’s a 10 calorie-per-bun savings over skim milk! When you eat the whole pan like I may or may not have done, that savings sure adds up.
This recipe is part of a campaign for Silk through FitFluential. All my own words, thoughts, and opinions of course!
Recipe, Snack
While I’ve never been a huge dairy eater, there are a few dairy-based goods on my list that I consider essentials to a well-rounded diet. {Ok, not essential. But absolutely delicious!}
1. Goat cheese. Any form, any flavor.
2. Greek Yogurt, especially with honey.
3. Queso Blanco, the ultimate Mexican cheese dip.
Well, whatever little dairy eating I did do has completely gone out the window. My 11 month old {gasp!} 1 year old {!!} son is allergic to dairy, soy, and a handful of other delicious foods. Because I’m nursing him, that means those foods are off limits to me. Most of the time I’m pretty grown up about the whole ordeal- I don’t complain and I don’t really miss those three delicious dairy favorites above. It’s a lot easier to handle something maturely when it’s for your child.
But then there are days. Days where I’m all “woe is me” and “this sucks” and “damn it I just want some cheese dip”.
Nachos with cheese dip are kind of a tradition around these parts. When the husband and I first moved to the area, we lived in a tiny apartment across the street from a shopping center. In true young newlywed fashion, we were totally broke, jobless, and more than pinching our pennies. Every once in a while, as a special celebration, we’d treat ourselves to our favorite Mexican takeout from the shopping center. Eventually it became a Sunday tradition: football and nachos smothered in heavenly queso blanco. But remember I said we were broke? We compromised by concocting our own nacho monstrosities, complete with beer-laced gooey cheese dip.
Five years and a child later, we still have our Sunday tradition. For awhile we skipped over it, but there’s just something about sticking with those early marriage traditions. At first I just skipped the dip part, but I was seriously missing out. Until I came up with this gem of a dip: a dairy free {and completely vegan and soy free} queso blanco dip. Dairy-free cheese dip? Say it isn’t so.
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 cup Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Original
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- ½ cup dark Mexican beer (or sub vegetable broth or additional milk)
- 1/2 jalapeno, diced
- ¼ cup white onion, minced
- ½ tsp smoked cumin
- ¼ tsp lime juice
- 1 cup vegan/dairy free mozzarella cheese (such as Daiya)
- Whole grain corn tortilla chips or sliced veggies (for dipping)
Sauté onion and jalapeno in a small saucepan over medium heat until the onion starts to brown, about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in almond milk and cornstarch until well combined.
Whisk occasionally until mixture begins to thicken, about 5 minutes.
Whisk in beer, cumin, or lime juice.
Add in vegan cheese. Stir thoroughly until cheese melts and forms a smooth mixture. Add more cheese for a thicker dip; less for a more pourable cheese (to top nachos, etc.).
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This dairy free cheese dip is only 107 calories per serving- a 15 calorie savings over skim milk and a vast improvement over traditional restaurant-style Mexican queso blanco!
This dip also tastes great with Pepper Jack style vegan cheese instead of mozzarella, especially when served over black bean smothered nachos. The beer provides a rich and intense depth of flavor and gives you a great excuse to finish the rest of the bottle with your dip! Feel free to use vegetable broth or additional almond milk if you prefer to not to use beer.
This recipe was developed for Silk for a Fitfluential campaign. You can find other great recipes using Silk Pure Almond on their Facebook page.
Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
Beverage, Recipe
It may not be an actual pie, but this gluten free, dairy free key lime pie green smoothie sure tastes like it!
I’ve never really been much of a cake person. I’m not a fan of icing and when you take the icing away, what’s left is pretty boring. When it came time to plan our wedding 5 years ago, the one thing I kept saying was “Do we have to have a cake?” Luckily for me, the husband agreed.
That left one big question. What to serve instead of cake?! The answer was easy. PIE! Key Lime Pie to be exact. If I hadn’t known for sure already that my now-husband was meant for me, this would have sealed the deal: a man that prefers key lime pie over cake.
Well, we ended up having cake anyways. There’s just something magnificent about a beautiful tower of confectionary goodness. It just screams wedding. Our cake was gorgeous- and delicious- perfect for smashing in each other’s faces. But there was key lime pie too, thanks to my pie-baking-connoisseur stepdad.
That’s a roundabout way of saying just how much the husband and I love key lime pie. Unfortunately we can’t eat key lime pie every day, but that doesn’t mean we can’t channel that delicious flavor combination into something we can have every day: a key lime pie green smoothie!
The lime juice and vanilla combine to create the essence of key lime pie, while the graham cracker crumble topping just seals the deal. The frozen banana provides the perfect consistency, although you could just add some ice cubes if you don’t have frozen bananas ready to go. The spinach creates the gorgeous green color a key lime pie necessitates, while secretly packing in some powerful nutrition.
Green Smoothie Recipe
by with a Side of Sneakers
- 1 cup Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened Vanilla
- 1 frozen banana
- ½ cup baby spinach leaves
- 1 Tbsp lime juice
- Zest of 1 lime
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 Medjool date, pitted
- 1 Tbsp crushed graham crackers, gluten free if needed
Combine all ingredients except graham crackers in a blender.
Blend until smooth.
Pour into a mug and top with crushed graham crackers.
Drink immediately.
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This nutrient packed green smoothie is 192 calories and packs in 5 grams of fiber. It’s easily gluten free and dairy free. It’s not a high protein smoothie, but you could easily add a scoop of vanilla protein powder to make this a great post-workout shake. If you’re watching your calories, this almond milk based shake saves you 30 calories over using skim milk, and has even more calcium.
Be sure to check out Silk Pure Almond website and Facebook page to see more delicious, creative recipes!
This post is part of a sponsored campaign with Silk and FitFluential, LLC. All opinions are my own. Learn more about Silk Pure Almond Unsweetened on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here for more Gluten Free Dairy Free Recipes that won’t leave you trapped in the kitchen for hours or hunting down a million bizarre ingredients.
Beverage
Wake up to a comforting vegan pumpkin spice latte without even getting out of your pjs – it’s dairy free, vegan, low sugar, and can be made hot or iced. Plus it’s made in your crockpot overnight so it’s entirely fuss-free – just like a perfect fall latte should be.
Jump to Recipe
Fall. It’s all everyone is talking about. The calendar has rolled over into a new month and Labor Day weekend is behind us. Apparently that is a more significant signal of a season change than say, the actual changing of the weather.
There are no crisp fall mornings cropping up. The leaves aren’t beginning to turn. My jeans and scarves simply make me sweat more instead of keeping me cozy and comfortable.
But as with most things, people seem to be in a rush to push time along. There’s been talk of Halloween, pumpkins, apples, and hot toasty drinks.
Do you know what I’m getting at? The ubiquitous pumpkin spice latte. It’s all up in my face. You can’t escape it. Only I wish I could because I think it’s revolting.
Yes, I, lover of lattes and all things pumpkin, hate the artificial combination of coffee and pumpkin.
But give me real pumpkin. Cinnamon sticks. Cloves. Freshly ground coffee beans. This vegan pumpkin spice latte has all of that – plus it’s dairy free!
Vegan Pumpkin Spice Latte
This comforting vegan pumpkin spice latte is not only a dairy free version of the popular PSL, but it's made right in your crockpot overnight - wake up to the delicious comfort of a latte without getting out of your pjs.
-
4
cups
almond milk or coconut milk
{I used Silk PureAlmond Vanilla Unsweetened}
-
1/4
cup
pumpkin puree
heaping
-
2
Tbsp
vanilla
-
1
Tbsp
pumpkin pie spice
-
1
Tbsp
sweetener such as maple syrup or molasses, plus additional as desired
-
Strong brewed coffee or espresso
2 Tbsp coffee grounds per 6 oz water
-
Coconut whipped cream, optional
recipe below
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Combine milk, pumpkin puree, vanilla, spices, and sweetener in slow cooker.
-
Feel free to add cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, or a vanilla bean for added “oomph”.
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Cook on low 2-3 hours, or on “warm” setting overnight.
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Serve with hot or iced coffee. Try 1/2 cup brewed coffee with 3/4 cup pumpkin spiced milk or adjust as desired.
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Top with maple coconut whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
That I can get on board with.
I’m especially a fan of this at home version of the pumpkin spice latte for 2 reasons: 1. I can drink it! Alternative milks are increasingly popular, but until Starbucks moves beyond traditional cow’s milk and soy milk, I’m out. By making it at home I can use almond or coconut milk. 2. It makes itself overnight. Yeah, that’s right. Slow cooker to the rescue, yet again.
We’re a milk free household and have been since long before baby allergies were an issue. I tend towards the almonds and coconuts of milk, while the husband prefers soy. I don’t think cow’s milk is a necessary part of our diet and it’s easy to replace since there are so many available options. Silk has soy, almond, and coconut milks in a plethora of varieties. They also have a fruit version that I want to try as soon as I can have soy again.
I like to stick with the original unsweetened versions of these dairy alternatives, but for this recipe I decided to give the vanilla almond milk a try. {Side note: the dark chocolate almond milk is INSANE. This comes from a non-lover of chocolate.}
I mulled my almond milk with the traditional plethora of fall flavors: cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, vanilla, and a hint of maple. I let it simmer on super-low overnight, awakening to the most amazing smells wafting up the stairs. It may be muggy and humid, but at least until I open the door, it’s fall for a few stolen moments. Infant in one arm, strongly brewed coffee in the other, I poured my steamed spiced milk into an oversized mug and applauded myself for playing the role of both sleep-deprived mom and barista all before 6am.
I even thought far enough ahead to freeze some coffee + almond milk ice cubes for a refreshing iced coffee version when the full force of it’s-still-summer-reality hits me later in the day.
- 1 can coconut milk, chilled
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp vanilla
Drain liquid from coconut and add solid portion to a chilled mixing bowl.
Whip on high until peaks start to form.
Add in maple syrup and vanilla. Adjust sweetener to liking.
Serve over pumpkin spice lattes with a sprinkle of cinnamon for the perfect fall treat.
Feel free to toss your brewed coffee into the Crock Pot with your milk and spices so you have even less to do in the morning. I prefer to keep the milk separate so I can decide on my own coffee-to-milk ratios depending on whether I’m serving it hot or cold, or so I can use the delicious milk concoction for other fabulous fall-inspired meals, like this breakfast quinoa I devoured this morning.
Not a coffee fan? {Gasp! The horror!} Try this latte with brewed chai tea or as a base for hot chocolate instead. Mmmm.
This pumpkin latte recipe would be delicious served along side of a Starbucks-inspired pumpkin scone!
Originally sponsored by Silk.
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Are you in the pumpkin spice latte fan club? When do you consider it actually fall?
