Holiday Matcha Shake with Moonlit Matcha

A frosty, matcha shake infused with fresh nutmeg and sweetened by Kahlua is thick with creamy cashews that makes a healthy and delicious treat!

I always have two different types of matcha in my fridge. One is for baking, a lower grade matcha that's best for donuts, waffles, smoothies and the like. The other is best for drinking, a higher grade matcha that I usually drink plain whisked into hot water using my little bamboo whisk. I don't usually make matcha lattes or anything like that, but every so often I'll crave a sort of frosty matcha shake. Today I thought I'd share my holiday version of this yummy drink and a give you a tip on where to get some fantastic high quality matcha.

For drinking, you'll want a premium or ceremonial grade matcha. Cooking grade matcha is best left to be incorporated into baked goods or smoothies. I've been buying this same ceremonial grade matcha from an ethic shop in Anchorage (50 miles from where I live) for many years, but since I don't work in town anymore and nobody sells it near where I live, I am happy to be able to purchase it online. This ceremonial grade matcha gifted to me for review by, Moonlit Matcha by Hybrid Herbs, shocked me when I opened it. 

I'm used to matcha being somewhat dull and lacking luster. This matcha was bright and lofty. When I mixed it into my water, the tea shown a vibrant and deep green color. I'd never seen matcha like that before! It was grassy, smooth, and earthy; not in the least bit bitter at all. I knew I had a keeper! 

I really love that Moonlit Matcha is also 100% organic and comes packaged in Miron violet glass jars which block light and keep items fresh for much longer than regular glass or aluminum packages. The glass is also recyclable,  but I'll keep mine to store ground flaxseed, herbs, and other such food items. 

This is definitely my new drinking matcha, and I am so happy to have discovered it. Do you have a favorite matcha brand? You can find Moonlit Matcha on Amazon, where it ships directly from Japan for free with Amazon Prime! It's priced the same as other ceremonial grade matcha but with the benefit of being organic, packaged in Miron glass, and is the brightest, sweetest matcha I have tasted yet. I definitely recommend it!

And now, onto the recipe!

Holiday Matcha Shake

Recipe by Kathleen Henry @ Produce On Parade

A frosty, matcha shake infused with fresh nutmeg and sweetened by Kahlua is thick with creamy cashews that makes a healthy and delicious treat!

Serves 1.

Ingredients

• 1 cup cold water
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1 tbsp Kahlua
• splash of agave nectar or maple syrup, to taste
• 1/4-1/2 tsp Moonlit Matcha
• pinch of kosher salt
• dash of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (optional)

Cooking Directions

1. Place all the ingredients in a high powered blender and blend until smooth. If you don’t have a high powered blender, soak the nuts for 2 hours in cold water prior to use.
2. Pour into a large glass and serve chilled.

*DISCLAIMER*  PRODUCE ON PARADE IS A PERSONAL BLOG WRITTEN AND EDITED BY MYSELF ONLY, UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. MY REVIEWS ARE COMPLETELY BASED ON MY OWN OPINION OF THE PRODUCT REVIEWED. THESE PRODUCTS WERE SUPPLIED TO ME AS GIFTS TO TEST AND REVIEW. OTHERWISE, IF I MENTION A COMPANY BY NAME AND THERE IS NO DISCLAIMER AT THE BOTTOM OF THE POST, I AM MERELY WRITING ABOUT SOMETHING I LIKE, PURCHASE AND/OR USE. THE FACT THAT I DO RECEIVE A PRODUCT AS A GIFT TO TEST AND REVIEW, WILL NEVER POSITIVELY INFLUENCE THE CONTENT MADE IN THIS POST. 

Blogiversary + Veganniversary + Birthday Cake Smoothie

This healthy Birthday Cake Smoothie is a great drink to treat yourself to anytime. Full of good fats and protein packed, skip the dessert and go for this cake-mimicking smoothie instead!

Well, April 25th was Todd and my two year blogiversary and veganniversary. Another one come and gone and too much excitement already happening (housebuilding and cookbook) to evenly properly celebrate, can you imagine?! It's only been two years since we simultaneously decided to go completely vegan, and start a blog as an outlet to our new adventure but it sure feels like we've lived this way our whole lives.

Who would have known the adopting a vegan lifestyle would reduce Todd to the lowest dose of Methotrexate for this rheumatoid arthritis! Just by cutting out dairy, eggs, and meat?! He felt so much better, there was no turning back and then the blog just grew from there. It wasn't filled with the potential struggles of being vegan like I thought it would be. Nope, rather Produce On Parade became a celebration of this new way of life and the amazing food that goes with it. Add as time went on were reviews of wonderful vegan products, news and information regarding veganism and wellness, and of course a new Dutch word every post too. 

A lot has changed from two years ago. I never thought I'd be smack in the middle of building a home (yesterday was our second kitchen design appointment and today was bathrooms!) and writing a cookbook (over halfway done!). It's been a pretty crazy ride but I wouldn't change it for anything. Adopting a vegan lifestyle and starting Produce On Parade have been two of the most life-changing and exciting things in our lives. I can't wait to see what the next two years have in store! And for fun, here is look back to our one year blogiversary/veganniversary in which a salted caramel chocolate tart made a grand appearance. 

Thanks so much for supporting Produce On Parade in all we do over here. I love hearing from each and every one of you! You all always have the kindest things to say, especially in a world that's sometimes not so friendly. I wish you were all my neighbors so we could celebrate each new day with delicious, cruelty-free food and give each other advice on which vegan deodorant to use (you think I'm joking but I'm really not). I have the best readers and friends around. Thank you. 

And now onto some serious stuff. Protein! Protein powder that is. I don't really use the stuff a whole lot, but Todd does and he approves of the new line from Sunwarrior...Classic Plus! Check out it's awesome stats:

• Organic & vegan (hooray!)

• Raw & plant-based

• Made with amaranth, quinoa, chia seeds, yellow peas, and brown rice

• Gluten-free

• Sweetened with stevia

• 18 grams of protein per serving

• Chocolate, Vanilla, and Natural

Totally full of good stuff right? I thought it would be the perfect addition to this Cake Batter Smoothie. Want to try it out yourself? Sunwarrior is hosting a giveaway! Click the link to enter to win a protein powder starter pack!

Birthday Cake Smoothie

By Katie Henry - Produce On Parade

This healthy Birthday Cake Smoothie is a great drink to treat yourself to anytime. Full of good fats and protein packed, skip the dessert and go for this cake-mimicking smoothie instead!

Ingredients

• 1 cup non-dairy milk
• 1 scoop (25 g) Sunwarrior Classic Plus Vanilla Protein Powder
• ½ medium frozen banana, sliced
• 1 small avocado, pitted
• ½ tsp almond extract
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp butter extract
• ¼ tsp vanilla extract
• dash of kosher salt
• dash of birthday sprinkles, optional

Ingredients

1. Place everything excluding the sprinkles in the blender and blend on high for about 1 minute, until smooth and creamy.
2. Top with sprinkles and serve chilled.

Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 00:00
Total time: 00:05
Yield: 1 smoothie

More Great Smoothie Recipes

Malted Chocolate Shake

Chocolate Banana Muffin Smoothie

Creamy Chai Banana-Avo Smoothie

French Toast Smoothie

Malted Chocolate Shake

I'll be honest with you...I don't use protein powder. I'd rather throw some black beans in my smoothies, or peanut butter, or tofu. All fantastic sources of protein. I find protein powder to be too expensive, too artificial, and if it's vegan (which can be hard to come by) it can be grainy or chalky. So, you can imagine my hesitation when Sunwarrior contacted me about participating in their smoothie challenge. 

However, protein powder has it's place in life and Sunwarrior is one of the very best. Todd actually uses it quite frequently. For someone that needs an instant meal and doesn't have much culinary experience (or desire to be in the kitchen), it can be a wonderful thing indeed.

This weekend, Todd ran up the mountain I grew up on and where he proposed. I was under the weather so I stayed home with Bailey. Bailey can't do this mountain. The last time Todd brought him, he had to carry him back down...literally.  It's exceptionally steep and very unforgiving, though for some reason it's been bestowed the unfortunate and ironic name "Lazy Mountain". A joke, no doubt. I knew when he came back he would need a recovery drink and this Malted Chocolate Shake was just the thing. I had to put it in the fridge to keep myself from drinking all of it! Recipe development...almost as strenuous as running up a mountain...

I confess I was really pleasantly surprised by the Sunwarrior products. I have tasted a few other vegan protein powders in the past couple years and I was less than impressed. Even the fermented barley powders and liquid light  were really not bad! The immune shield liquid, however, was straight-up horrible. Though I'm pretty sure it's not the point to taste delicious. I really like that their products are free of GMOs, dairy, gluten and anything artificial. They also weren't gritty like other the powders I've tried. 

Growing up, my grandmother used to make me malted chocolate shakes. Alas, the instant chocolate malt powder isn't cruelty-free, so I decided to make my own! This is a protein packed shake thanks to a little help from Sunwarrior and nothing is better than a little nostalgia from time to time.

“Animals are my friends...and I don’t eat my friends.”

— George Bernard Shaw

Malted Chocolate Shake

Growing up, my grandmother used to make me malted chocolate shakes. Alas, the instant chocolate malt powder isn't cruelty-free, so I decided to make my own! This is a protein packed shake thanks to a little help from Sunwarrior.

Yield: 1 shake

Ingredients

• 1 cup soymilk
• 1/2 frozen banana, chopped
• 1 package (21 g) Sun Warrior Classic Protein Powder Chocolate
• 1-2 tbsp barley malt sweetener (I used powder, but syrup would work)
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/2 tbsp ground flax seed
• pinch of salt

Cooking Directions

1. Combine everything in a blender, and blend for a minute or two until completely smooth. Serve cold.

Dutch Word of The Day

Mountain --> berg (bearh)

Good Deed of The Day

I'm so glad this case is being presented in front of Congress. How totally messed up are we? Studying depression and trauma inflicted upon baby monkeys being separated from their mothers so we can better understand these illnesses in humans. If humans and these monkeys are close enough related that it makes sense we could implement this study...doesn't that prove that it's totally barbaric and horrifically cruel that these studies are being carried out? If it's not ethical to do this to humans, it shouldn't be to do it to moneys either...or any other sentient beings. Makes me sick inside.