Healthy Home | Eggnog Smoothie

I'm not sure what jingles my bells more; hearing Mariah's "All I want for Christmas" for the first time of the season, or chugging an iced cold glass of eggnog.

Preferably I'd be doing both simultaneously.

Unfortunately, my new found interest in healthful living (and subsequent plant-based eating) ultimately tossed a wrench in 50% of that plan. A couple of years ago (before even being a soy milk drinker) I tried a Soynog alternative hoping for a healthier version. Not so much. It didn't even compare, so why bother?

So I decided to make my own....

And then I took it one step further, and I thought, why not try and make it into a delicious smoothie, and one with natural, healthful ingredients?

And SmoothieNog was born.

I'm not big on tooting my own horn, but goodness gracious this smoothie is delcious. Thick, creamy, frosty and, for me, as eggnogy as it gets without using real eggnog or even eggs for that matter.

So here it is, a vegan, no-refined-sugar, healthy fat and fibre full smoothie that you can enjoy guilt-free all season long!

• 1 cup soy milk (or milk beverage of your choice)
• 1 large frozen banana (freeze at least the day before, peeled and cut into chunks)
• 3-4 small pitted dates or 2 large*
• Approx 3 - 5 almonds
• 1 tbsp healthy seed mix (my go to is flax, chia, hemp hearts and buckwheat, but just chia or flax would work great for this)
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 - 1/2 tsp rum extract (depending on how rummy you like it!)
• pinch cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg (save some to sprinkle on top)

(*not required, but definitely kicks this drink up a notch- if you don't have dates in your house I fully suggest adding them to your pantry- I use them EVERY day and they make a great alternative to many sweeteners.)

For bonus points, add a cup of spinach. It'll up the nutritional benefits and you won't even taste it!

Note: I made mine in my NutriBullet (love it!). A Vita Mix would be wonderful for this, but if you only have a Magic Bullet or blender you still should be fine. I would recommend milling the almonds and seeds separately first and then adding that mixture when you blend the rest of the ingredients for the best consistency.

Good luck and happy nogging!