Holiday Drinks Part 1 of 2

by | Dec 10, 2015 | Eating Naturally, Natural Remedies, Naturopathic Health, Nutrition

In this two part series we’re going to offer tasty recipes for popular Holiday Drinks!

Pumpkin Spice “Latte”
1 ½ cups canned pumpkin
2 cups almond or coconut milk
4 dates, pitted
2 teaspoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon allspice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
pinch nutmeg
pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

  1. Place pumpkin, milk, dates, maple syrup, and spices into a high speed blender. Process on high until silky smooth. If the consistency feels too thick, add a little water.
  2. Transfer to a small saucepan and heat over medium low, until very warm.

Sleigh Driver
1 cup water
1/3 cup agave nectar or ½ teaspoon of stevia liquid concentrate
1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and sliced
3 pears, chopped into bite-size pieces, divided
2 quarts apple cider 1 lemon, halved and sliced
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons vanilla extract

  1. Combine water, sweetener, ginger and 1 pear in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Strain out the solids and return the mixture to the pan.
  2. Add the remaining pears, cider lemon and allspice and heat over medium-high heat, stirring often for 15 minutes.
  3. Add cranberries and vanilla and reduce the heat to medium-low (the liquid should be simmering, not boiling). Let simmer for 10 minutes. Serve

Vegan Eggnog
3 cups raw almonds
4 cups water
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons yacon syrup
2 teaspoons nutmeg
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of ground cloves

  1. Soak almonds overnight. Discard the soaking water and rinse the almonds until the rinsing water is clear.
  2. Place almonds and 4 cups of water in a blender or food processor and blend on high for 90 seconds.
  3. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, discarding solids.
  4. Add vanilla, agave, yacon, nutmeg, cinnamon and cloves to the almond milk in a container with a lid. Shake to combine.
  5. Keep in refrigerator until ready to serve. Heat if desired.

Vegan Hot Cocoa
¼ cup raw cashews
1 cup room temperature water
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tablespoon agave
20 drops stevia
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

  1. Place cashews and room temperature water in a blender or food processor. Puree on high until completely smooth.
  2. Blend in cocoa, agave, stevia and vanilla.
  3. Divide mixture evenly among two mugs. Top each mug with ½ cup boiling water.

Stay tuned for next week’s post where we’ll offer recipes for popular “mocktails”!