I am new to the world of almond milk. Until Bub and I embraced clean eating, I had never had it- barely even noticed it at the grocery store. I mean, I drank cow’s milk- by the gallons! And then when we actually got some almond milk- I wasn’t taken with it. You certainly wouldn’t find me hunkered down drinking glasses of it. No way. In some instances, and milk is one of them, I would rather do without than settle for a substitute.
However, I’m perfectly okay with cooking with almond milk. My palette is not refined enough to be able to distinguish between cow’s milk and almond milk in a baked good. (I’m okay with that inability.) Plus, almond milk has a fairly long shelf life- so, it’s not like I am under the gun to use it or lose it like the 2 3/4 gallons of cow’s milk currently in my fridge that are out of date.
I told y’all last week that I am hell-bent on getting back into a pair of old jeans– and to kick off my effort I am going on a 24-Day Challenge (not 24-Day Walk in the Park!) So, I have gotten real serious about what I am eating and how much I am moving. (I will give y’all an update on my progress in the next week or so.) However, it is no secret that I have a sweet tooth and it is usually hardest to tame at night. So- it’s usually at this time of day that I become the most inventive at creating some sort of midnight snack (actually, more like 9 PM snack!).
So, last night I was having an attack. I mean, when the craving for something sweet overtakes me, there is no talking me off the ledge until I satiate that craving. And if I try to ignore it and push through, typically it results in drastic actions, and by drastic actions I mean a binge. So, I have learned to figure out something that will curb that craving or I will find myself literally eating the house down. I am certainly intelligent enough to know that eating the house down will in no way help me get back those damn jeans! So, I have to figure some shiz out.
Some time back I did a post on some healthy, sweet fruit snacks. Those are some good, viable options. I keep the frozen banana-peanut butter sandwiches in my freezer because they are tasty. So, during the attack last night, I decided I would have a couple of those while I tried to figure something out. Each time, I forget how good they are! And I have probably eaten my weight in them! So, I was eating one- opened the fridge, and saw the vanilla almond milk and a light bulb went off in my head!
It probably took me about a minute and a half to get a handful of the frozen banana-peanut butter sandwiches in the blender along with a half cup of the vanilla almond milk. Ohmygoodness- it was tasty. I am here to tell you that this little recipe will forever be a part of my life! After gobbling that up, not only did I have a new appreciation for almond milk- but, I also thought, hey- wait a minute, I could take this up a notch with chocolate almond milk! Yes. Ma’am. you heard me correctly!
Whatdoyouknow! Today was grocery store day (which is totally dictated by when we run out of eggs.) As a matter of fact, I had to go to the grocery store this morning before breakfast because we were out of eggs, and being out of eggs at our house is like a sign of the end of times. So, my early morning grocery store run resulted in not only 2 dozen eggs but also a half gallon of dark chocolate almond milk!
This is how this goes- follow the instructions from the older post about how to create the frozen banana-peanut butter sandwiches. Once you have those ready get out your food processor or blender or Ninja and throw a handful of the sandwiches in there and blend.
Blending up the frozen sandwiches is kind of a 2 part process. They first go through a crumbly phase but keep blending and they will turn into a paste. The whole process takes 2 minutes- tops. I have to make a note here too. I was making 2 servings (one for me and one for Bub)- adjust your amounts accordingly.
And I was real excited and in a hurry to get his this whipped up- afterall, I had been waiting all day! So, I did not measure exact amounts. I just poured the dark chocolate almond milk until it looked like the right amount- probably somewhere around 1 and a 1/2 cups.
I blended that all together and it was looking good- but, I wanted a little more peanut butter, so I went ahead and added a dollop. (When it comes to peanut butter- the more the merrier to me.) I was happy with the consistency of this mixture- however, a couple of ice cubes blended in there would have beefed it up.
And while we are here, I have to tell y’all about this new take on peanut butter I have found. There are lots and lots of things that the name brand does not matter- lots. But, I have found that peanut butter is not one. I have tried making my own peanut butter but it just wasn’t what I was used to… I am not going to apologize for not liking homemade peanut butter. Anyway, for a long time, I ate Peter Pan whipped peanut butter and it was fine. But, my Moma eats peanut butter like it’s her job. And for the past 10 months, she has been spending lots of time at my house keeping Baby Bub (for free) while I work. So, I try to keep a few things that she likes in the pantry. She only eats Jif peanut butter. Period. Regular ole creamy Jif. Thanks for playing. Well, the other day- I happened upon whipped Jif. In my humble opinion, it is better than the Peter Pan whipped version- and get this, Moma loves it! She went out and bought 3 packages of it! One for my house as a backup, one for my Aunt Martha, and one to take home for herself. So, if you happen upon it- check it out.
Where was I? Oh yeah, back to the Skinny Shimmy Shake! This stuff turned out to be delicious! 
I loved it! I will certainly be having this treat regularly! As you can see from the photo, our servings were nowhere near monstrous, and yet it perfectly soothed my sweet tooth! Healthier sweet treat- check and check!
