Another recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking , an all vegan (mostly slow cooker) site. Please join us on Facebook for more recipe ideas.

Just in time for the warm weather – a healthy frozen treat that doesn’t cost a fortune!

So Delicious Almond Milk Blueberry Green Tea Cheap-o-chino

Makes about 2 to 3 servings
soy-free, gluten-free

• 1 1/2 cup So Delicious Vanilla Almond Plus Milk
• 1/2 cup frozen blueberries (if fresh use more ice)
• 1 teaspoon matcha powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Nu-stevia powder, optional – you may need none
• pinch of xanthan gum or 1 teaspoon pectin (do not leave out – it holds it together!)
• 1/2 cup ice

In a blender mix everything except for the xanthan gum and ice. Blend until smooth.

Then add xanthan gum (or pectin), ice and blend. This will keep the different ingredients from separating.

You can add more almond milk if it’s too thick or you can add more ice if it’s too thick.

Another slow cooker recipe from Healthy Slow Cooking - My first book, The Vegan Slow Cooker, is out!
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*This recipe requires a small 1 – 1.5 quart slow cooker.* (You can double or triple the recipe and use a larger one if you like.)

Makes 2 servings (unless you drink a venti and then it’s just one serving)
soy-free (if you don’t use soy milk) , gluten-free

• 1/4 cup (63ml) cold brewed coffee concentrate (or 1 cup (250ml) regular brewed coffee)
• 2 cup (500ml) unsweetened non-dairy milk (can use vanilla or plain )
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
• pinch ground clove
• pinch ground allspice
• pinch nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon molasses (optional – adds more gingerbread flavor)
• Sweetener to taste: brown sugar, stevia, agave nectar, or maple syrup, etc.
  (I used 1/2 packet Nu-Stevia)

Put everything but sweetener in the slow cooker. Add molasses. Whisk until ingredients are well combined. Taste and add your choice of sweetener until it’s the way you like your latte.

Cook for 3 hours on low or 1 1⁄2 to 2 hours on high. You are just heating it, so you could also do this on the stove top if you are in a hurry.

1 cup non-dairy Milk
1 peeled Orange
2 c. Kale or Spinach
1 peeled Banana
1 Pear, cut into quarters
1 c. Grapes, red or green

Blend all ingredients until smooth. Makes 5 cups.

1 1/2 cups non-dairy Milk
1 large Mango, peeled & pitted
2 cups Spinach
1 peeled Banana
1/2 cups Grapes, red or green
Blend all ingredients until smooth.
Makes 4 1/2 cups.

Creamy Pumpkin Smoothie

Creamy Pumpkin Smoothie

1 15oz can Pumpkin
1/2  c Soy Milk
1T. Maple Syrup or Agave Nectar
1t Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 Banana
1/3 c. Apple Juice Concentrate
Ice

Process all ingredients in a blender until smooth.
(submitted by Katherine Lawrence of www.plantbasedhealth.com )

• 2 c. Collard Greens
• 2 c. Strawberries
• 3 Peaches
• 1/2 c. Grapes (for sweetness)
• 2 c. Rice or Soy Milk
• Ice cubes

This smoothie makes me miss my days of growing up in Louisiana.  It makes 6 cups, so that’s enough for me to enjoy more of it the next day  

Here’s one of my basic ones, off the top of my head. The measurements are just estimates and can be changed for your personal tastes once you get used to it.

1/2 c strawberries (frozen)
1/2 c blueberries (frozen)
1 banana
2 tbsp ground flax
1/2-1 c soy milk (Depending on how thick you like it and how good your blender is. The more liquid the easier a blender can blend.)

Throw all together in a blender and blend. Enjoy!

Every time you make smoothies for a while experiment with different fruits until you find a few combinations you really like. It’s really a personal preference thing but fun to experiment!

You can use whatever fruits you like. I like using frozen berries for the convenience. You don’t have to prep them, worry about them being more expensive because they’re not in season or if they’ll go bad before you get around to using them and they’re always available when the mood for a smoothie strikes. Not to mention berries are very good for you. Oh, I also don’t thaw them first, just throw them straight from the freezer. I also sometimes use raspberries and blackberries but you do feel the seeds then (especially with blackberries!)

Bananas & mangos are great for making smoothies sweeter.

I’ve also used fresh peaches, apricots, nectarines (pitting, of course), melon, pineapple, etc. etc. when they’re in season.

Apples & pears (cored but no need to peel) are a good cheap addition but if the smoothie isn’t drunk (or frozen) right away the fiber in them can do strange things to the consistency of the smoothie.

You can use juice instead of soy milk if you like a tangier smoothie. Carrot juice is real good for a milder flavor.

I’ve also recently tried a real simple one. Oranges (Clementines, peeled and seeded), soy milk & ground flax. Reminds me of orange Creamsicles!

I’m too lazy & busy to make smoothies every day but like to have them every day at work so what I do is make a bunch (10, 5 for me, 5 for hubby) on the weekend and put them in bottles (10) and freeze them immediately. Then each day we just take 2 bottles out and drink them at work as they thaw. This has kept us drinking smoothies more than anything! It’s also the only way I can get my husband to eat any fruit (Unless you count fruit pies!)

Another tip, not really a smoothie but… If you ever have too much watermelon (Seedless. Or any other melon, without the seeds.) and are afraid you won’t use it all in time take a bunch and blend it! It makes a refreshing drink and somehow is easy to eat lots of it this way.

Posted to the Eat-2-Live email list

I got this from Shazzie’s vegan book Detox Your World. http://www.detoxyourworld.com/

This is such a sugar pink colour, it glows! But don’t mess with the sweet sugary vixen lurking at the bottom of this drink — she might just turn around and bite you!

3 pink grapefruits
2 limes
2 ripe soft pears
2 cups of melon

Remove the citrus peel and juice all the ingredients in a juicer. Alternatively, juice the citrus in a citrus juicer, and add everything to a blender and blend, you can strain this if you like.

Serves 4

We make watermelon “slurpees” all summer long. Ice + watermelon (plus a couple of spoonfuls of water to get it going )in the blender makes a yummy treat. You don’t even have to remove the seeds; they sink to the bottom of your cup. (And if you do drink a few little bits, whats a little extra fiber anyway…?) Oranges and other juicy citrus are nice, too. I also like apples + berries.

Smoothies are even good if the fruit is starting to get a little old; you don’t notice that they’re not quite in their prime (like when the watermelon starts to get a little mealy). But best of all is a mango slush. Freeze the mango and then blend it with a little ice and a couple of spoonfuls of water. Decadently creamy. Much better than ice cream! My kids love it.

From the Eat to Live email list

2 cups coarsely chopped cantaloupe
2 cups sliced ripe banana (about 2 medium)
2 cups pineapple-orange-banana juice
1 tablespoon sugar or substitute, optional
1 tablespoon lime juice

Arrange cantaloupe and banana in a single layer on a baking sheet; freeze until firm. Place frozen fruit in a food processor; process until chunky. With processor on, slowly add remaining ingredients; process until smooth. Serve immediately.

Serving Size: 1 cup