Months into it, I think I have found a recipe for our morning frappes I am finally happy with. The key?
Frozen bananas. The milk doesn’t matter. As I played with the formula at first I using coconut creamer to give the drink a thick texture. Others use pectin or guar gum to achieve this. Bananas though do all this and give a great taste, and offer nutritional bonus. How does it work? Same way it does when making frozen banana ‘ice cream’. The minor amount of fat and the starchy nature of them turn smooth and creamy when blended. Of late I buy a couple of huge bunches every week, let them ripen, then slice up two on a sheet of parchment paper, fold over and freeze. A weeks worth of drinks is prepped in a few minutes.
And as I dialed in the recipe I lowered the amount of sugar, then swapped in maple syrup. Unprocessed, thick and creamy and low in fat. We got off commercial frappe mixes and now? I can’t imagine going back. I have included an updated version of our cold-brewed espresso, I am making it stronger now.
The drink was important for me to get right, it was still a stickler in my quest to go unprocessed. Which have you considered signing up and taking the October 2012 Unprocessed Challenge?
I am signed up. Who knows if I can make the final jump from 90% to 100%. We will see. Certain things are still my crutches. I at least hope to not buy anything processed during the 31 days. If it is in the house…I am OK with that. And Halloween? Errr……that might be an issue 😉 Maybe 98%…hehheh.
Choco-Chip Banana Frappe
Ingredients:
- 1½ cups unsweetened almond milk
- ½ cup cold-brewed espresso
- 2 Tbsp chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp pure maple syrup
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 bananas, sliced and frozen
- 8 ice cubes
Directions:
Add everything to a high-speed blender (such as a Vitamix). Process on high, tamping as needed, until smooth (about a minute). Serve immediately with wide straws.
Serves 2, filling 2 grande (16 ounce) cold cups.
Updated Cold-Brewed Espresso
Ingredients:
- 1 cup medium-grind ground coffee, preferably 100% Arabica beans
- Filtered water
Directions:
Add the coffee to a quart mason jar, fill with cold filtered water. Cover tightly and let sit on the counter for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Strain through a Jelly Strainer Bags
See here for the original post.
Makes 4 cups.
Now onto the September Vegan Food Swap Reveal. My friend Cat, of Verdant Life, runs the swap. I have participated since she started it. I love putting together themes if I can. This month I was paired with Rachel, who doesn’t have a blog. I sent her a goodie box of sweet and salty/savory snacks. I received a package from Phyllis at galfriday4hire.
Included were 4 bags of freeze-dried edamame that I hadn’t seen before, including one variety that is packed with freeze-dried vegetables. The brand is Cruncha ma-me:
Gerbs Pumpkin Seeds? I haven’t had these or seen them before. I really, really love getting items that are new to me. Also included is the one flavor of Go Raw cookies I haven’t had!
I can’t wait to try everything. Alas, this month I can’t try any of the goodies till my temporary crown comes out and I get my real crown – less than a week till I have it done. Then crunchy-crunchy time!
~Sarah
PS: Have you entered the Yogurt Giveaway yet? Last chance is the 30th!
I can’t wait to try this frappe! I love coffee and coffee drinks! I never thought to add a banana – genius! I’ve been seeing this challenge around and am considering it – but am so nervous!
Stephanie, way I look at the challenge is it can only encourage me to make better food choices 🙂 And help me resist any bad choices – hah!
PS: I have another frappe coming up soon! I drink them nearly every day – love cold coffee over hot to say the least…
You are right – I’m getting really legalistic about it. The point of it is for me to make better choices than I am making now. So here goes nothing – I’m signing up! Really looking forward to the next frappe! I’m crazy about them too – but only in the afternoon. Must have hot coffee first thing in the morning.
Oh yes I’ve seen this too and really, really wish I liked bananas because your drink looks so good! I can’t stand bananas unfortunately 🙁 I think I need to rectify that after seeing your drink! 🙂
The banana flavor is masked to a point – I find unripe bananas do work, and are not as “Flavorful”. I am going to experiment more though and see if I can get any other starchy fruits to work! 🙂 I hate, hate thin, watery/icy frappes though 😉
Vegan MOFO and unprocessed are too much for me in one month! LOVE that you are making the frappes with frozen bananas. We do almond milk, frozen banana, almond butter and a bit of raw cacao at least once a week as dessert. Never get tired of it!
Yep, I figured I’d pick one to do this coming month and the unprocessed seemed a better use of my time 😀
There you go, I might have gone the same direction if I had known about the unprocessed one in advance!
My husband was today in the store “Ooh, too bad you can’t have that after tomorrow!” Such sympathy…. 😛 Wonder when he’ll figure it out it means him as well? Hehheh!
Sooner or later! My husband has recently been praising me for shifting our family to a vegan diet and improving all of our health….. 9 months later 😉
I am doing the October Unprocessed as well. I am hopeful that I will get through everyday without processed food, but I am sure something will slip there (even with my best intentions).
I like your box such interesting stuff. I haven’t heard of any of it, hope you enjoy it 🙂
I wake up this morning knowing … no Starbucks for a month. Eek!! 😉
A stunning & tasty creation! 😉 MMMMMM!