This Almond Joy smoothie recipe is vegan, gluten free, and tastes just like an Almond Joy candy bar, only it’s better for you. An ice cream smoothie with vegan chocolate almond ice cream, strawberries, and coconut. The perfect healthy substitute for a milkshake, too!
You know what happens when an endurance athlete goes from training 35-40 hrs a week for Ironman to only swimming and light conditioning or short runs? Well, I’ll tell you. Major sugar withdrawals! Oh man, the body definitely still has it’s need to restore glycogen, but when you go from tons of training to “normal person” training, the mind doesn’t get the memo to reduce the cravings. Come on, I know you Boston Marathoners are thinking the same thing right now, right? Haha.
I guess you could say I helped feed this little craving though. I was the wife that used to put almond joy candy bars or snickers bars in the freezer for when the Kiwi came home from a long run or ride. Hey, calories are calories at that point, and those bars aren’t too shabby compared to other natural energy bars. Really! I also used to make a big “recovery” smoothie for him and add in some candy bar toppings. I know I know, but like I mentioned before, some of these candy bars have better ingredients that supplemental bars, just sayin.
Okay, were was I going with this? Oh ya, sugar intake.. um, withdrawals.
We obviously scaled back on the sugar and chocolate. But I felt like we could still get away with eating frozen candy in some form of another. You know me, I like to “healthify” things or try to out smart unhealthy cravings. I mean, life’s too short to not eat chocolate and sugar, however, life’s too short not to take care of you nutritional needs too. Ya know?
That being said, I think I found our sugar fix solution. It’s vegan, gluten free, soy free but still oh so tasty! And it pretty much tastes like an almond joy candy bar dipped in strawberry jam. I have your attention now, don’t I?
GOOD!
Let me introduce you to our new obsession. This ALMOND JOY SMOOTHIE!
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Dairy Free Strawberry Almond Joy Smoothie
- Total Time: 5 min
- Yield: 2 1x
Ingredients
- 1 cup frozen strawberries
- 1/2 frozen banana
- 1/2 cup coconut milk ice cream (we use chocolate almond flavor)
- 1 tbsp of enjoy life non dairy chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips if you are not vegan
- 1/2 tbsp almond butter
- 1 cup coconut or almond milk
- optional – coconut extract
- optional – vanilla or chocolate protein
Instructions
- Blend banana, ice cream, berries, and milk first. Then add in your almond butter and chocolate chips last and blend on low to create a layered look. Top with extra strawberries, chocolate chips, etc. I added in a scoop of My Mix Vegan Protein as well.
Notes
feel free to use any form of ice cream, yogurt, milk, or chocolate if you are not vegan. Tasty either way!
- Prep Time: 5 min
Most of you can make this Almond Joy smoothie right now with the ingredients in your fridge/freezer. But I’ve also given you substitutes for those who are not vegan or don’t have coconut milk on hand. Just in case!
I won’t lie, Nadamoo is what makes this smoothie taste amazing! And we LOVE our LOCAL coconut milk ice cream. No they didn’t pay me to say that, it’s all my own gushing! There are tons of new and improved non dairy ice creams out there these days, but I’m all about the gluten free and organic ingredients in Nadamoo; and I’m all about sharing the AUSTIN owned love.
Either way, add this Almond Joy smoothie and Nadamoo coconut milk ice creams to your must try list.
I promise you’ll get that candy bar craving fix and feel GOOD about it.
This post is also dedicated to my friend JEN who 6 years ago nicknamed me ALMOND JOY. The name remains today! <3
What’s your favorite candy bar? Have you tried to make a healthier/less sugar version? Do tell!
p.s.
Big congrats to Tina and Katie for their races this weekend!
p.p.s
blending chocolate, almond butter, and berries will never make a pretty color. But I did my best. And it’s damn delicious!
