Vegan Nog - dairy free!

Everywhere you look in winter there is another recipe for an eggnog or boozy drink. This version is not only alcohol free, but dairy and egg free as well. Not that you couldn't add a swig of something, but it is absolutely delicious and warming all on its own.

Vegan Nog

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{wholly rooted}

Egg & dairy free nog recipe - using medjool dates, it is even low glycemic.

The dates give a rich creamy sweetness and a thicker texture similar to eggnog, without the eggs!

No egg, no dairy, no alcohol, but still the flavour of the holidays!

{ingredients}

• 3 medjool dates, pitted

• 4 cups *unsweetened* dairy-free milk of choice (coconut, cashew, hemp, rice, etc.)

• 5 whole cloves

• 4 whole cardamom pods

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 tsp dried or a slice of fresh ginger

• 4 allspice

• 1/2 a vanilla bean, split

• optional: orange zest or dried peel

Pour your coconut milk into a pot along with the pitted dates.

You can use a teabag or strainer for the rest of your ingredients to steep in, so they are easy to remove (or just use a strainer later).

First gently crack your spices to get the most flavor from them – you can do this via pestle and mortar, or place in a bag and gently whack a few times with a rolling pin. Place all of your cracked spices into a strainer or teabag, and place in the pot.

Heat. Don’t boil, but heat enough to infuse the spices. Warm on a low-med stove for at least 10-20 minutes.

Remove the spice bag or strain out the spices (keep the dates in there though), and blend the milk and now softened dates in a blender until creamy and smooth.

Grate some fresh nutmeg over the top to serve and drink while warm!
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To make a larger batch for a party, use a slow cooker. Calculate how many dates you need based on how much coconut/almond/hemp milk you pour into your slow cooker. Remove a few cups of the milk and bring it to a low simmer in a pot with your dates. Blend that in a blender, and then pour and stir the blend into the master batch of milk in your slow cooker. Next, put the spices in a teabag or muslin bag & toss the whole bag into the crockpot to infuse. Heat on low-medium, and serve on your buffet table!

Published November 13, 2017

We don't do dairy in the house, as my older son has a severe allergy. And quite honestly I don't want any of us in this house to follow down the road of our genetic lottery of diabetes, so I love recipes that are not only dairy free, but also use low glycemic sweeteners. The dates also are what gives the drink that thicker creaminess. If you use rice milk, it will be a little thinner, obviously, but hemp, cashew, coconut and other thicker milks have the perfect thickness!

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