sharing raw, vegan recipes and advice
Our neighborhood Whole Foods was selling this by the glass in the raw section, but just as I was becoming filled with the holiday spirit, the person in line in front of me snapped up the last of it. Undeterred, I took another peek at the ingredient list and came up with this version. Feel free to customize or substitute to your heart’s content! I think this would be delicious in many different incarnations.
3 tablespoon raw nut butter (use your favorite!)
2 cup filtered water
1 banana
3 dates, soaked
.33 vanilla bean, seeds scraped
4 dash cinnamon, freshly ground
1 dash nutmeg, freshly ground
1 pinch sea salt
Note: This version is on the rich and sweet side. You can dial back the richness by starting with two tablespoons of nut butter instead of three. Start with one or two dates if you prefer less sweetness. On the other hand, if you really want it to be decadent, try adding a smidge of coconut butter towards the end of the blending (the warmth caused by the blending will keep the coconut butter from seizing). Experiment with different nut butters, too! It is pecan season in Austin, so I used homemade pecan butter from my own trees. But I think walnut butter would be fabulous, as would almond, cashew, or macadamia.
1. Drain the dates and pour the soak water into the blender. Add enough filtered water to bring the total liquid up to 2 cups.
2. Add the nut butter and blend until smooth. If you like your beverages really smooth, especially if you are using a butter from a harder nut (almonds, for example), you might want to strain the milk and rinse the blender before proceeding with the next step. I skipped this step because I am lazy.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender and whirr away! If you have a high-powered blender, you can blend the vanilla bean whole. Otherwise, scrape the seeds and reserve the pod for some other fragrant use (before my Vitamix, I put my scraped vanilla bean pods in a sachet in my underwear drawer!). Also, I tend to be stingy with my vanilla beans, so please feel free to use more than the recipe specifies if you are feeling carefree. A splash of vanilla extract is also fine to substitute if you like.
4. Adjust the seasonings to taste. I started slow with the nutmeg, because it can get a bit overwhelming. I used about four times as much cinnamon as I did nutmeg.
5. Blend one last time to combine, then pour into a festive glass and enjoy!
Possible modifications:
-Add a splash of almond extract for another dimension of flavor.
-Add cloves, ginger, or cardamom for additional spicy warmth.
-Add a bit of finely grated orange rind for a warm creamsicle effect.
-Use frozen banana for a noggy shake!
Happy December!
You have saved my life today!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this is the ticket!!! sipping some now! wow...hey chris and willmize, what about "jimminy christmas", "dern" "shucks" and "good grief" ;) or wait, chris arent you in Uk? what about"blimey" "cor" and "strueth"
Hey willmize, we should hang out! I normally get on well with anyone who uses the word "Dang"! LOL
My dad used to say "Dag Nab It" too. Maybe I try to revive that one.
Cool website BTW!
This sounds so dang delicious.
Ummmm....this sounds wonderful! I can't wait to try this on my granddaughter who takes off running if I mention raw food. I think she will love it but I won't mention where I got the recipe, lol.
I saw it at the Whole Foods in Austin, TX--it's their huge flagship store, so they have a whole raw and vegan foods deli counter (it's extremely expensive, so I usually just use it for inspiration--but this one I was going to buy there). I hope you guys enjoy it!
Hey btw, which raw foods was serving that? What state?
OHH YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I cannot wait to try this!!! thank you thank you!
Yumm-mee!