Dairy-Free Banana Split Shake

This spoonable smoothie possesses the fruity, chocolaty, and nutty elements of a banana split sundae, but with far healthier, allergy-friendly ingredients. The natural sweetness relies heavily on the ripeness of your fruit, so don’t be shy about adjusting the sugars to your taste. You can also add more or less cocoa and seed butter to suit your cravings.

Makes: 2 servings
Free of: gluten and all top allergens

Ingredients

2 14 oz cans full-fat coconut milk*, chilled
2 tbsp powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
2 very ripe frozen bananas, broken into chunks
1 cup (250 mL) unsweetened or plain dairy-free milk alternative (your choice of type), plus additional as needed
big pinch turmeric (optional, for color)
sugar, agave nectar or liquid stevia, to taste
7-8 ripe frozen strawberries
2 tbsp strawberry jam
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp creamy sunflower seed butter
dairy-free chocolate shavings or mini chocolate chips, for garnish
2 cherries, for garnish

Recipe Tips

*A Note on Coconut Coconut is technically a fruit. While most allergists do not consider it a tree nut, if you are nut allergic, ask your doctor if coconut is safe for you.

Instructions

Open 1 can coconut milk and spoon 3/4 cup of the thick coconut cream at top into a small chilled mixing bowl. Add powdered sugar and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and blend with a hand mixer until whipped, 1-2 minutes. Cover and chill. (Topping will keep for up to 3 days).
Place bananas, milk alternative and turmeric (if using) in a blender and process until smooth. If too thick, add just enough milk alternative to get things moving. Blend in sweetener, to taste. Divide half of mixture between two tall glasses, leaving half in the blender.
Scoop 1/2 cup of thick coconut cream remaining at top of open coconut milk into the blender, opening second coconut milk can if needed. Add strawberries, jam and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and blend until smooth. If too thick, add just enough milk alternative to get things moving. Blend in sweetener, to taste. Divide half of strawberry mixture between the two glasses on top of the banana layer, leaving half in the blender.
Add cocoa and seed butter to blender and process until smooth. Divide the cocoa mixture between the two glasses, on top of strawberry layer.
Garnish with chilled coconut whip topping, sprinkle with chocolate and top each shake with a cherry.

Alisa Fleming is a contributing editor to Allergic Living magazine and the author of Go Dairy Free: The Guide and Cookbook for Milk Allergies, Lactose Intolerance and Casein Free Living, and founder of http://www.godairyfree.com