When I first moved to the States, I had my first encounter with something that was until then pretty much new to me: Egg-Nog! I was kind of unsure what to think of it, especially since when I was growing up in Germany, we always had something similar to that, but even worse around the holidays. It’s called „Eierlikör“, which means egg liquor…Yuck! Most Germans seem to like it, but not me. It has a really thick texture and with the tought of eggs being in there, it always seemed to gross me big time. So long story short, I’m not a fan.
But let me quickly get back to the American version of that egg liquor. Since I was living in North Carolina and you can’t just buy liquor in a regular supermarket, the Egg-Nog was booze-free. I was still curious and bought a carton of it. Little did I know, that there was a serious LOVE-HATE-RELATIONSHIP about to happen. I loved the lighter feel in my mouth, since if was much milkier than „Eierlikör“ and it was spiced with seasonal spices… LOVE! And if you know me by know, you should also know, that I love them! BUT… and here comes the HATE part of the deal: It’s made with half-and-half. To all my Non-American readers who might not know what that is, it’s half milk and half cream. Even before I started eating plant based, milk or cream was my death penalty!
But every year, around Christmas I kind of get emotional about that LOVE-HATE thing Egg Nog and I got going on, so this time around I said to myself: Enough of this sentimental bs!! I will make a healthy, non-dairy, non-eggy version of Egg Nog. An No-Egg-Nog-Smoothie! So when my new Vitamix Professional Series 750 arrived … let’s just take a moment here and appreciate this beauty… I was on a roll! I was like, yeeeah I’m making No-Egg-Nog with this AMAZING blender and it will be delicious. So I did!
I was always wondering if all the hype about this Vitamix blender is real?! Now I’m thinking to myself: How could I even have had one single doubt in my mind??? This blender is LIFE! It will blend, crush, mix, grind anything! Make soups, nut milk, nut butters – btw I have a killer roasted almond butter recipe – soups, (n)ice-cream, cheez, pesto, any sauce you can imagine, this blender will literally whip it up for you in no time! So, is it worth the hype? YES! Is it worth the price? YES! Are you ready to make this healthy and delicious vegan No-Egg-Nog-Smoothie?
What you need [makes about 4 cups]
1 cup cold filtered water
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup cashews [soaked in water over night]
1-2 very ripe bananas [use frozen ones if you have them at hand and skip the ice later]
1 heaping tbsp ground sunflower, flax or hemp meal
Juice of 1|2 a lemon
2 pitted Medjool dates
1-2 tbsp maple syrup [optional, if you like it sweeter]
1 heaping tsp cinnamon
1|2 tsp vanilla powder
1|2 tsp gingerbread spice
1|2 tsp ground cardamom
1|2 tsp ground or 1 cm freshly grated ginger
A couple pinches of freshly grated nutmeg
A pinch of sea salt
HOW TO
1| Put all ingredients, starting with the liquids, into your high-speed blender and give it a good mix. I like to let it mix for about 30 secs on high.
2| Pour into your favorite jars, garnish with a cinnamon stick and coconut shreds. Enjoy it by itself or with a cinnamon roll or in my case, heart <3
