Remember the whole Starbucks Unicorn Frappuccino craze? Is that still a thing?
We’ve never really understood the whole ‘unicorn’ obsession (or the Frappuccino obession, to be honest). Sure, we love beautifully colored food as much as the next person, but when it’s full of artificial dyes and flavors, we’ll give it a hard pass. Although we still don’t agree with the liberal use of ‘unicorn’ as a food descriptor, we do enjoy playing around with natural, vibrant additives, like beetroot powder, spirulina, turmeric, and a whole slew of other ~magical~ powders (blue matcha, anyone?).
Besides making for an Instagram-worthy shot, most of these powders are impressively nutrient-dense. Spirulina, otherwise known as blue-green algae (sounds repulsive, I know), is one of the most nutritious foods on earth. Rich in plant-based proteins, B vitamins, and powerful antioxidants, it’s a great add-in to smoothies (in a very small dose, of course). Plus, when mixed with light colors (yellow, white, etc), it lends a stunning aqua hue to your food that seems anything but natural.
At this point, you’re probably wondering why we went through the effort to make 9 separate recipes for this post. This month, we were featured in Thrive Magazine, an insanely gorgeous and successful plant-based publication that’s available in a few thousand stores around the country, most notably Whole Foods, Target, Costco, Walmart, Kroger & more!
Thrive showcases some of the most talented food photographers and bloggers on Instagram, and we’re so honored to have been chosen for their latest issue. The Thrive Magazine Instagram feed is sight for sore eyes; they’ve done a fantastic job of curating a colorful, eye-popping feed that we always enjoy! Long story short, we felt that these colorful lattes were the perfect tribute to Thrive and their inspirational community.
Now, on to the recipes. As a general note, we used homemade cashew milk in all 9 of these recipes, but you can easily substitute with any non dairy milk you have on hand. If you want to make a quick batch of homemade cashew milk, here’s how: soak 1 cup raw cashews in warm water for 30 mins. Drain and rinse cashews and add to blender with 3 cups of filtered water. Blend for at least 1-2 minutes and then strain through nut milk bag or cheese cloth. Return to blender and add 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tsp vanilla extract and a pinch of sea salt. Blend well and pour into glass jug. Store in refrigerator for 5-7 days.
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The latte flavors include: Vanilla, Pumpkin Spice, Chocolate, Beet, Lavender, Matcha, Turmeric, Blue Matcha & Spirulina!
Ingredients
Vanilla Latte:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Pumpkin Spice Latte:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 1 shot of espresso
- 3 tbsp pumpkin purée
- 1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
Chocolate Latte:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 1 shot espresso
- 1 tbsp cacao powder
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Beet Latte:
- 7 oz cashew milk
- 2 oz beet juice (recipe below)
- 1/2 tsp tart cherry concentrate
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- Pinch of sea salt and nutmeg
Lavender Purple Latte:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp acai powder
- 1 tsp maqui powder
- 1–2 drops lavender essential oil
Matcha:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp matcha powder
- 3–4 tsp maple syrup
Turmeric:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 2 tsp maple syrup
- 1 1/2 tsp turmeric
Blue Matcha:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp blue matcha
- 3–4 tsp maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Spirulina:
- 10 oz cashew milk
- 3/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp spirulina
- 3–4 tsp maple syrup
- Pinch of sea salt
Instructions
Vanilla Latte:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Pumpkin Spice Latte:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Chocolate:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Beet:
- To make homemade beet juice, juice 1 large beet and a 1/2 inch chunk of fresh, peeled ginger. If you don’t have a juicer, you can blend with 1/4 cup water and then strain through cheesecloth.
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Lavender:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Matcha:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds. (Tip: sifting matcha before adding into cashew milk helps to prevent clumps! You can also use a traditional matcha whisk for best results.)
Turmeric:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Blue Matcha:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
Spirulina:
- In a small saucepan over medium-low, heat cashew milk until warm. Add in other ingredients and whisk well until dissolved and frothy. Alternatively, add all ingredients to blender while warm and blend for 30 seconds.
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