Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Blissful Cocoa Smoothie Ⓥ

This is probably my favourite smoothie/nogurt recipe I've ever made. The texture is amazing, it's super smooth and creamy, the chia adds a lovely crunch, and the flavour is divine! Pure heaven! Not to mention this smoothie is packed full of super foods and healthy goodness. Who knew being healthy was this much fun? ;) 

Blissful Cocoa Smoothie

1 Banana, ripe

4-5 pitted Dates (soaked)

1 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1/2 cup of water (for the Chia and dates)

1/2 cup of Almond Milk 

2 tsp Raw Coconut Oil

1 tsp Maca Powder

1 heaped tsp Cocoa Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Hemp or other Protein Powder

I sometimes add a heaped teaspoon of peanut or almond butter. And I also like to add 1-2 cups of greens (like kale or spinach) for an extra healthy treat--and you can't even taste the greens in there!

Soak the Chia and Dates in the 1/2 cup of water overnight in your fridge, or for at least 10-15 minutes before making the smoothie--this helps to soften up the dates, so the longer the better. 

Toss all the ingredients together in a Food Processor and blend until smooth. Super easy, super healthy, super duper delicious! 

Makes 1-2 smoothie servings, or 2-3 nogurt servings. 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Green Mango Almond Smoothie Ⓥ

 

I think this is my new favourite smoothie. It is at least being added to my top favourites. I like to make my smoothies a little thicker and use them as "nogurt" so you can adapt this recipe to your liking. 

Green Mango Almond Smoothie

1 cup frozen Mangos

7 pitted Dates

1/8 cup Raw Almonds

1 Tbsp Almond Butter

2-3 Lettuce Leafs

2 Tbsp Hemp Protein Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

7 drops Stevia

3/4 cup Almond Milk

If you have the time then I recommend soaking the almonds and dates for about 10 minutes as it helps to soften them up and blend a little smoother and easier. Also slightly defrosting the Mangos is easier on the blender as well. 

Throw all the ingredients together in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend until well blended and creamy. (Beware, it can get rocky in there! No, not literally rocks in there but it can be a bit intense on your food processor or blender if you're not ready for it, nothing unusual for frozen fruit or dates if you've ever processed them before.)

Add less or more almond milk to get your desired consistency. 

This smoothie won't be completely smooth, it's got a wonderful texture with the nuts and dates and the taste is simply sublime! And no, you won't notice the taste of lettuce in there and it's a great way to add some greens to your day!

This makes awesome "Nogurt" as well, just make it a little thicker! My favourite is to have a bowl of fresh fruit and raw granola and top with this delicious recipe! 

Makes 1 large Smoothie or 2-3 servings of Nogurt. 

Enjoy! :) 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Coconut Strawberry "Nogurt" Ⓥ

Another lovely "Nogurt" recipe--that is yogurt without the yucky dairy! ;) Made this up a couple days ago and loved it so felt it was worth sharing. 

Coconut Strawberry Nogurt

1 cup frozen Strawberries

6 pitted Dates

1/4 cup Cashews

1/2 Banana

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil 

1 tsp Vanilla

1/2 cup Almond Milk

I soaked the cashews and dates for about 5 minutes as it helps to soften them up and blend a little smoother and easier. I also defrosted the Strawberries a tad. 

Throw all the ingredients together in a food processor or high-speed blender and blend until smooth and creamy. (Beware, it can get rocky in there! No, not literally rocks in there but it can be a bit intense on your food processor or blender if you're not ready for it, nothing unusual for frozen fruit or dates if you've ever processed them before.)

Add less or more almond milk to get your desired consistency. 

This makes awesome "Nogurt," top with some granola and fresh fruit! Or make it as a smoothie. Makes 1-2 servings depending what you're using it for. 

Enjoy! :) 

[topped over Buckwheat Pancakes!]

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Matcha SoyGurt NoGurt! Ⓥ

This was one of my first recipes when I decided to start making "NoGurt." I always started my mornings with smoothies and then one morning I felt like something different but still wanted something delicious and creamy--and to still start my day with protein and fruit. This came about because I also wanted a bit of a "wake up" and since I don't drink coffee Matcha is the magical solution.  

Matcha is fantastic and super healthy for you--a great alternative to coffee if you need some energy! 

Some Matcha Facts:

It has approximately 70 times the antioxidants of orange juice, 9 times the beta-carotene of spinach, and has more antioxidant power than blueberries. 

The health benefits of Matcha may also include:

* Significantly increases energy (over 8-10 hours) without the caffeine 'jitters'

* Improves mental alertness

* Increases calmness and reduces stress

* Boosts metabolic rate by 35-40% in regular drinkers, facilitating weight loss

* Powerful 'anti-aging' activity due to super-charged antioxidants

* Lowers blood pressure

* Decreases levels of LDL or 'bad' cholesterol

* Minimizes symptoms of PMS

* Super immune-boosting activity due to high levels of polyphenols and catechins

* Stabilizes blood sugar levels

* Powerful anti-biotic and anti-viral activity

* Strong blood cleanser/detoxifier and alkalizer due to high chlorophyll content.

Cool eh?  

Matcha "Soygurt"

1 Ripe Banana

1/4 block of Medium Tofu

1/2-1 tsp Matcha Green tea Powder

1 tsp Agave Nectar

1/4 Almond Milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1/4 cup Water

Throw all the ingredients together in a food processor (or high-speed blender) and blend until creamy, slowly adding the water until you get a nice thick smooth consistency. You may want to add a bit more sweetener depending on your taste buds. The trick is making sure the banana is super ripe, if it's just barely ripe or still a bit green it won't be as sweet. 

Makes 1-2 servings. 

Great over granola or fresh fruit! Come to think of it, this would be amazing over pancakes too!

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Cocoa Coconut Super Nogurt! Ⓥ

I have two other "Nogurt" (yogurt minus the dairy cruelty) recipes and since I started making the stuff I'm hooked. I love mixing these up with Raw granola, some fresh fruit, cereal, or by themselves. It's like a thick smoothie but creamy like yogurt. Yum to Nogurt! So here is my latest creation and I think it's my new favourite. This one is Super because it has lots of super good foods in it; Maca, Cocoa, Coconut Oil, and Chia! Plus you get a good servings of protein and fruit! 

Healthy delicious and easy! What's not to love?

Cocoa Coconut Super Nogurt

1 Banana, ripe

1/4 cup of Strawberries (or more if you'd like a stronger strawberry flavour)

6 pitted Dates

3 Tbsp Chia Seeds

1/2 cup of Almond Milk (for the Chia)

1/4 cup of Almond Milk (for the recipe)

2 tsp Raw Coconut Oil

1 tsp Maca Powder

1 tsp Cocoa Powder

2 Tbsp Hemp Protein Powder

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

Soak the Chia and Dates in the 1/2 cup of Almond Milk overnight in your fridge. 

Toss all the ingredients together in a Food Processor and blend until smooth. Super easy, super healthy, super super! 

Makes 2-3 servings. 

Some notes:

That was all the strawberries I had left and you couldn't really taste them in this recipe so if you'd like a stronger strawberry flavour add more!

The Chia Seeds I have is a mix (Chia Goodness) that also has hemp seeds and buckwheat. 

Make sure your Maca isn't gelatinized! I'm not sure why there are some out there that are but there are so vegans beware!

I suppose you could make this in a high-speed blender but really food processors are the way to go when using dates so that's what I recommend--but you certainly could use a blender. Maybe let me know how that works if you do? :) 

And you totally could just enjoy these Nogurt Recipes as Smoothies as well. The choice is yours! 

Enjoy! 

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Ⓥ Vegan Kitchen: Peanut Butter Cocoa NoGurt! Ⓥ

I had an idea and decided to throw this together this morning instead of my habitual morning smoothie. It turned out absolutely delicious so I'm now sharing it with all of you ;)

I very rarely start my day with anything other than fruit and protein so this was a fun variation... oh, and in case you haven't noticed yet, I love peanut butter :)  

Peanut Butter Cocoa "NoGurt":

1/6 Block of Medium Tofu 

2/3rd of one medium Ripe Banana

2 tsp Peanut Butter

1 tsp Raw Cocoa Powder

1 tsp Agave Nectar

1/4 tsp Cinnamon

1/4 cup Rice Milk (or other non-dairy milk)

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add less or more Rice Milk to make it thinner or thicker to your desired liking. Makes 1-2 servings. 

I had this topped over a bowl of fruit and granola, so the rest of that banana was sliced in the bowl with some strawberries and a bit of granola. :) 


You can also make this without the tofu if you're sensitive to soy, just add less milk to it's still thick and use a frozen banana. 

Super delicious and another lovely protein- and fruit-packed way to begin the day. 

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