In my opinion you can never go wrong with treating yourself to a milkshake, especially a vanilla milkshake. The smooth, sweet cold flavor of vanilla ice cream blended with milk is a delectable way to cool anyone down on a hot day. If there is ice cream in my freezer I'm more likely to make a milkshake at least once a day until it's gone. When I made milkshakes before they weren't the healthiest since I would make them with several scoops of ice cream and added extra sugar to it.
Even though now I am more conscious of my health, I will still have a milkshake once in awhile as a treat but when I do it's much healthier. I substitute regular milk and ice cream with and non-dairy alternatives. Almond, soy, coconut, cashew and hemp milks are just some of the non-dairy milks available that are plant-based and nutrient dense. They contain lots of calcium and are cholesterol free.
You can make your own non-dairy ice cream out of any of the non-dairy milks you like or you can buy already made non-dairy ice cream from the supermarket as I did for this recipe. Instead of adding regular sugar I added medjool dates as a natural sweetener. Medjool dates don't have any fat or cholesterol but do contain fiber, potassium and other vitamins. They are easily digestible and help prevent the LDL cholesterol, the bad cholesterol, from absorbing in the body.
The cinnamon in this milkshake not only gives it a great rich flavor but also has anti-inflammatory properties and lowers blood sugar. I like to sprinkle some extra on top of the blended milkshake just to give it an extra dose of cinnamon flavor. I love love love vanilla and if a recipe calls for it I may intentionally add more than what the recipe calls for since I can never get enough of it. Here the additional vanilla is used to enhance the vanilla flavor that's already in the soy milk and ice cream.
Not only is this non-dairy cinnamon vanilla milkshake naturally sweet and creamy but it's actually good for you since it contains more vitamins and minerals than a regular milkshake. You definitely won't have that guilty feeling after drinking this one either!
This milkshake is gluten-free and contains no lactose.
Non-Dairy Cinnamon Vanilla Milkshake
Get the printable recipe here.
Yield: 1 serving
Ingredients:
2 scoops vanilla almond milk ice cream
1 banana
2 medjool dates pitted
1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup unsweetened vanilla soy milk
1/4 tsp cinnamon (save extra for sprinkling)
Directions:
1. Add all of the ingredients in a blender and blend.
2. Pour in a glass and sprinkle some cinnamon on top to garnish.
