Nailed It! (Smoothie Time)

I am always looking for good smoothie ideas because that is my breakfast (and snack) preference. I love smoothies because they give me great energy, satisfy my hunger, don't leave me feeling heavy, and they are incredibly fast to whip up or take on the go! So naturally, when I find a good smoothie from a friend or a juice bar that speaks to my heart, I do a little dance and then I go home and attempt to make it myself.

This happened recently when I was at the HomeAway health fairs. I was there with a variety of other vendors who were sharing their products and services, one being Daily Juice Cafe which has locations in Austin, Houston, and Nashville. If you live in one of those cities, I highly recommend visiting them and trying a juice, smoothie, or even one of their meals! Their food is delicious!

The owner, Joanie Frieden, was one of the people sharing their products at the health fair, and when I asked for a sample of their smoothies of choice that day, I had no idea the bliss I was about to experience. She let me try all three, but it was the last one she poured that made my eyes widen, my taste buds sing, and my senses dance. It took me about 2 seconds to look at her and say, "What is this? Tell me every single ingredient in here, don't leave anything out, I need to make this for myself every day. Thank you." She laughed and proceeded to tell me every ingredient and "process" of how to make it.

The process was more intense than I care to take on for a simple smoothie (i.e., they make the cashew milk using a nut bag and all), so I knew I would have to tweak the process and possibly one of the ingredients (the sweetener of choice). The next morning I attempted to mimic this smoothie sent from the heavens, and I was really impressed and 100% pumped about the results!

After I made it, I googled this type of smoothie and quickly realized that the vegan culture had already been making similar smoothies, calling them "Vegan Cashew Shake" and other similar names. I should've known that if this smoothie contained cashews, it was already going to be something those vegans were doing. I feel like they use cashews for everything. If you're vegan, do you bathe in cashews? Is there a health benefit to that?

My recipe has MOST of the same ingredients and a slightly different (less intense) process as the version Joanie shared with me, but I promise the flavor and texture will make you do a dance just like I did the day I tried the one from Daily Juice! Try it, and post it on my Facebook page or tag me on Instagram to let me know how you like it!

Ingredients

  • 3/4 cup unsweetened almond or coconut milk (choose personal preference)
  • 1/2 frozen banana
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 2 Tbsp cocao nibs
  • 1 Tbsp coconut oil
  • 2 dates (pitted)
  • 2-3 ice cubes
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp sea salt or pink himalayan salt

Directions

Throw it all in a high speed blender and enjoy!! You'll feel satisfied and full of energy with all that good fat (nuts and coconut oil) and those killer antioxidants (cocao nibs)! You'll crave this all day. xoxo