Drinks & Smoothies Archives -

Lavender & Honey Sparkling Lemonade

on April 7, 2017April 28, 2021 By Kelley 2 Comments

Lavender & Honey Sparkling Lemonade has the subtle sweetness of golden honey, tart and refreshing lemony zest, gentle floral notes, and the perfect amount of bubbly sparkle! This Springtime-inspired bubbly beverage is great for brunch. Healthy, and not too sweet, this delicious and beautiful mocktail will be a huge hit!

Spring is in the air. Flowers are blooming, leaves are budding on the trees, and the days are getting longer! (Which is my favorite part!)

Spring is time to renew, refresh, and clean out your closet. Ever year I try to go through my wardrobe, with a determined effort to get rid of stuff I don’t wear. It never seems to work. There is always some reason to hold onto that pilly sweater (but it so comfy), or that pair of pants (that I will surely fit into this year!). Right!? Well, at least I try!

For me its also time to clean up my diet. I know everyone jumps on the Whole 30 deal in the winter, but not me. During the colder months I like to indulge in a little too much sugar, and love my comfort foods. But once it starts to get warm I want to eat refreshing, lighter, and healthier fare like salads, fruits, smoothies, and cool refreshing drinks.

This Lavender & Honey Sparkling Lemonade is everything you want in a spring beverage. It has the perfect balance of tart and sweet, and has a hint of relaxing lavender. Not to mention the bubbles- they make this drink!

If you are hosting Easter brunch this year, this Honey & Lavender Sparking Lemonade will be a huge hit with your guests, and its so easy to make. Serve it in campaign flutes if you want to get super fancy! You can even make the lemon concentrate the night before and add the soda water right before you are ready to serve. Some other great recipes for Easter or any Spring-day brunch are my Asparagus & Hashbrown Egg Casserole (another super easy dish), or if you are looking to satisfy your sweet tooth Cinnamon Bun Pancakes are also an excellent choice.

Happy Spring!

Lavender & Honey Sparkling Lemonade

6 lemons
1/3 cup creamed honey ((regular honey will work too))
1 liter sparkling water
2-3 tablespoons lavender sprigs

Juice the lemons, and remove any seeds. You should yield about 1/3 cup of lemon juice.
Combine the lemon juice and honey in a high speed blender and been until honey has fully dissolved and the concentrate is frothy.
Divide the concentrate evenly into 4 glasses, or pour into a pitcher. Sprinkle the lavender sprigs over the concentrate than fill the glass/pitcher with sparkling water. (you can either chill the sparkling water prior to serving or add ice if you prefer.

Frozen Fruit Ice Cubes: Make Your Own Healthy Soda!

on August 29, 2016June 29, 2021 By Kelley 1 Comment

Frozen Fruit Ice is the perfect way to make a healthy and fruity soda, and it’s so easy! This ice is made from 100% pure fruit and it looks as good as it tastes.I LOVE sweet things. I’ve always been that kind of girl who would skip dinner and go straight for the dessert. As a girl loved soda and fresh fruit juices, but as I got older and more concerned about my calorie intake I traded in soda and fruit juice for diet soda and sugar free fruit juice.

Before I knew it I was literally addicted to diet drinks. I couldn’t just drink water, it tasted much too plain and blah! I adored the carbonated sugar-free fruit fizzy drinks, and if I ran out I would have to make a special trip to the grocery to load up on a few more bottles to feed my habit.

As I began to get more interested in nutrition and clean eating I came across an article that explained how fake sugars, although they have zero calories, can still have negative effects on the body. I was shocked! How could my precious sweet, guilt-free, soda be bad for me? Well, as it turns out, many fake sweeteners still trick the body into thinking it’s consuming sugar, and feed your sugar habit, making you crave more and more. And too much of anything is NEVER a good thing.

To kick my fake sugar habit I came up with several healthy alternatives and this Fruit Ice is my all time favorite. The subtle sweetness comes from 100% pure fruit ONLY! And it’s definitely more exciting than just plain water 🙂

If you love this Frozen Fruit Ice you’ll love these Frozen Fruit Mini Cakes:

Fruit Ice Cubes: Make Your Own Healthy Soda!

Frozen Fruit Ice is the perfect way to make a healthy and fruity soda, and it’s so easy! This ice is made from 100% pure fruit and it looks as good as it tastes.

1 bag of frozen fruit of choice (or multiple fruits if you’d like)
seltzer water
ice cube tray

Let the bag of frozen fruit thaw, or place the frozen fruit in the microwave for a few seconds to soften.
Blend the fruit on high until it’s a smooth puree. Add a touch of coconut water or water to blend if needed.
Pour the puree into your ice cube tray and freeze for at latest 2 hours or until set.
Place a few ice cubes into a glass and pour seltzer over top, then serve!

Gingerbread Hot Cocoa {Dairy Free, Gluten Free, Paleo, Vegan}

on December 8, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley

This Gingerbread Hot Cocoa is the perfect sweet treat on a cold winter’s day! This rich and chocolatey beverage, with hints of warm gingerbread spice, will surely get you in the holiday spirit. Best of all, it’s guilt free. (Dairy free, Paleo, Gluten free, Vegan)

Who loves chocolate out there?? This one is for you guys!

Ok….and for me too….

I love my chocolate in all forms- dark chocolate, milk chocolate, silky chocolate mouse, chocolate cake, chocolate frosting, chocolate covered-anything, and I could go on and on. But one of the best ways to enjoy chocolate is to DRINK IT!

When I say hot cocoa I don’t mean that powder stuff that you mix with water for milk to get some sort of chocolate flavored water. I want my hot chocolate to be like molten liquid chocolate- rich, creamy and chocolatey.

Like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate River! I still have dreams about swimming in that river.

This luxury beverage gets its creaminess thanks to two special ingredients- cashew milk and coconut oil. The cashew milk is much more creamy than almond milk, and now I can find it at all my favorite stores (so I don’t have to make it at home), and it has become one of my staples!

The second special ingredient is a touch of coconut oil that gets emulsified and it adds a richness and frothy texture. The coconut oil also adds a great nutritional punch with its medium-chain triglycerides that will provide you with energy as you power through that late night gift wrapping! You can read more about the awesome benefits of coconut oil HERE.

If you can’t find gingerbread spice pre-made just make your own- it’s very simple!

How to make Gingerbread Spice:

Combine: 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 2 tablespoons ground ginger, 2 tablespoons allspice, 1 tablespoon nutmeg, 1 tablespoon cloves.

You can thank me later 😉

Gingerbread Hot Cocoa

This decadent and creamy hot cocoa has the rich flavor combination of gingerbread and chocolate. You’ll never guess it’s actually dairy free thanks to a special ingredient that adds to its silky and creamy texture!

1 1/2 cups cashew milk (or almond milk)
1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup dark chocolate chips ((Enjoy Life brand))
1 tablespoon cocoa
1/2 teaspoon gingerbread spice ((see blog post for how to make gingerbread spice))

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat.

Whisk the mixture until it’s smooth and hot.

Pour the heated mixture into your blender and carefully blend on high to emulsify the coconut oil.

Serve immediately!

Cinnamon Fig Shake {Healthy, Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free}

on September 8, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley 8 Comments

This creamy, smooth, and sweet cinnamon fig shake is so delicious! You’ll never know it’s actually good for you, and it’s vegan and gluten free!

Figs, figs, figs! They seem to be everywhere this year! When did they become so popular? I mean I always knew Fig Newton’s existed, but now-a-days fresh figs are so abundant! Trader Joe’s even sells them in a bag-frozen. I decided to jump on the fig bandwagon, and I am glad I did!

Figs have a wonderful subtle sweet flavor, with a soft flesh and crunchy seeds that you can eat. They are nutritious and good for you too! They are super source of potassium, have a great deal of fiber, and contain antioxidants. You can bake with them and utilize their sweet side, or use them to balance out a earthy salad, or even put them on top of an artisan wood fired pizza- yum!

This shake is awesome! It’s a great way to get some figs into your diet, and change up your shake/smoothie routine with something a bit out of the box. The combination of cinnamon combined with vanilla and fig reminds me of a really tasty oatmeal cookie.

Cinnamon Fig Shake {Healthy, Gluten Free, Vegan, Dairy Free}

This creamy, smooth, and sweet cinnamon fig shake is so delicious! You’ll never know it’s actually good for you, and it’s vegan and gluten free!

1 cup of almond milk (or milk of choice)
4-5 frozen figs (buy fresh and freeze)
a few ice cubes (4-5)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
A few drops of stevia or maple syrup to sweeten further if you desire
Optional- one scoop of vanilla or unflavored protein powder of choice

Combine all ingredient in a high speed blender and blend on high until smooth.
If adding protein powder, you may want to increase the amount of milk so the shake doesn’t become too thick.

Cotton Candy Blizzard {DQ Copycat & Lightened-up!}

on August 21, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley 7 Comments

When my family drove cross country to relocate, we had thousands of miles on the open road to cover in 2 days. It was a big daunting task. There were many nondescript hours of nothing to exciting look at, just the arrow straight highway flowing right out to the horizon. We packed lots of healthy food for the trip to keep us fueled, but on a tight deadline and thousands of miles to cover, you can’t really avoid the fast food joints (Although we did try!).

I must confess, Dairy Queen got me through this trip. I would drive a slew of hours and reward myself with a DQ Cotton Candy Blizzard, as a “atta girl” for knocking off another 6-8 hours. Heck I deserved it, right? And it tasted SOOOOO GOOD! COLD-CREAMY-SWEET-with a distinct cotton candy flair which reminded me of the summer fair.

Like many of my other indulgent recipe inspirations, this one arose in the middle of the night when I had a craving for the Cotton Candy DQ Blizzard and there was none to be found anywhere nearby. And of course- I made made some healthy tweeks, but it’s equally as tasty!

I found a cool cotton candy online store called, Cotton Cravings. They sell all natural, organic, gluten free, preservative free cotton candy in exciting flavors such as Temping Toasted Marshmallow, Happy Happy Birthday Cake, Dulce de Leche Deluxe! The ingredient line reads: “Organic Evaporated Cane Juice, Natural Flavor, Natural Color, That’s it!” And you can order it right to your door, no needing to wait in line at the local fair!

You can make your own ice cream (coconut based, frozen yogurt, almond milk based- your choice), or just go out a buy your favorite, as I did (no ice cream maker in this house :(-yet!)

If you love this Cotton Candy Blizzard then I think you my be interested in this Birthday Cake Protein Shake:

Ok so here we go- a simple, easy peasy, and lighten-up DQ Cotton Candy Blizzard:

Cotton Candy Blizzard {DQ Copycat & Lightened-up!}

Cotton Candy Blizzard {DQ Copycat and Lightened-up} Gluten free, dairy free options

1 cup of vanilla ice cream of choice (frozen yogurt, coconut milk or almond milk ice cream all ok)
¼ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (or other milk of choice)
½ cup cotton candy (any flavor)
Optional: If you want your blizzard to extra thick so you can turn it upside down you can add ¼ cup frozen coconut creme.

Mix all the above ingredients in a high speed blender, and blend on high until smooth. Add only a small amount additional milk to blend if necessary.
Top with excess cotton candy and serve. You may need a spoon!

Pineapple Rise & Shine Smoothie Bowl

on July 30, 2015June 29, 2021 By Kelley 2 Comments

When I think of summertime I think of laying in the sun at the beach, windows rolled down in the car, the smell of flowers and fresh cut grass, and fresh tropical fruit- like watermelon and PINEAPPLE! I love fresh fruit- how sweet and juicy it is when it’s in season, and it’s so good for you too! Pineapple is packed with vitamin C, manganese, thiamin (vitamin b-1), and bromelain which aids in digestion of protein.

For more information on the health benefits of pineapple click HERE. HealthAmbition.com has an excellent article about pineapple’s health benefits and you can read that HERE.

I love to freeze fresh pineapple chunks to use in smoothies during the hot summer months. The result from using fresh frozen fruit to replace much of the ice is a more flavorful, less icey, more smooth, smoothie!

I made this smoothie extra thick, so you can eat it with a spoon and it feels more like a meal than a drink.

Everyone in your family, kids included with love this smoothie! It tastes much like the Pina Colada Julius from Orange Julius- creamy, smooth and sweet, but made with healthy and simple ingredients!

Pineapple Rise & Shine Smoothie Bowl

Healthy pineapple smoothie bowl- vegan, gluten free, paleo

¾ cup frozen pineapple chunks
¼ cup pineapple juice (you can reserve this much juice when cutting up your pineapple or use canned pineapple juice)
1/2 cup of almond milk
¼ cup of full fat coconut milk (the canned kind)
5 + ice cubes
a few drops of stevia or maple syrup if needed for sweetness
optional- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (whey, or soy/veggie-based, chia, hemp, coconut flakes on top)

Blend all the ingredients in a high speed blender. I use my Vitamix. It has a super high powered motor that blends thick smoothies exceptionally well!

Birthday Cake Protein Shake {Healthy, Dairy-Free, Paleo}

on July 14, 2015June 29, 2021 By Kelley 30 Comments

This dessert-like Birthday Cake Protein Shake is secretly good for you! It happens to be dairy-free and paleo too!

Coldstone Creamery introduced me to CAKE BATTER ICE CREAM, and my life was forever changed! Pre-cake batter ice cream I’d opt for mint chocolate chip or chocolate chocolate chip, but the cake batter flavor has officially made me leave the world of chocolate ice cream behind, and never look back!

Knowing it wouldn’t be a great idea to indulge in cake batter ice cream on a daily basis, I have tried to create the flavor in a variety of healthy ways. I am so happy to say that this thick Birthday Cake Protein Shake is a pretty excellent healthy reproduction of the flavor and festiveness of the original! With two scoops of vanilla whey protein (from grass-fed cattle preferably) this shake has over 20 grams of protein, leaving you full, energized, and satisfied! After you suck this shake down, you may be leaving your chocolate shakes behind as well 🙂

**The Birthday Cake Protein Shake has been featured on the Huffington Post! You can see the article HERE!

And if you like this shake you will also love this Cotton Candy Blizzard!!:

Birthday Cake Protein Shake

A birthday cake flavored protein shake made from wholesome and healthy ingredients

1 cup of frozen organic banana (chopped into small pieces prior to freezing)
¼-½ cup vanilla almond milk (adjust amount depending on desired thickness)
2 scoops of vanilla whey protein or vegan or paleo protein of choice (no sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 few drops of almond extract
1 teaspoon of maple syrup
1 tablespoon sprinkles (optional- but always fun)

Mix all the ingredients in a high speed blender, or food processor, adding more almond milk as neccessary.

Protein Shake

Watermelon Strawberry Basil Summer Slush

on July 9, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley 5 Comments

This frozen drink is the best way to rehydrate and refresh on a hot summer day! It has no added sugar, just fruit and coconut water, basil and a dash of himalayan salt. It is packed with electrolytes and keeps you well hydrated, both which are so important for your body.

The trick to make this drink boldly flavorful is to freeze the fruit! No need to add ice, just cube the watermelon and freeze. You can even add in a few frozen watermelon chunks after blending to keep your drink frozen longer, and those chunks taste really great too!

This slushy is also begging to be spiked with your favorite adult beverage if you wish! It would make a great addition to any summer party!

Watermelon Strawberry Basil Summer Slush

Watermelon Strawberry Basil Slush

2 cups cubed frozen watermelon
6 medium strawberries (if you use frozen strawberries yo may need more coconut water to blend)
1 cup + of coconut water
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
dash of Himalayan or celtic sea salt

Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender
Blend on high, adding coconut water as you go until desired consistency is reached.
Serve immediately.