This Dairy-Free White Russian from the Whole Smiths is brought to you in collaboration with New Barn Organic Almondmilk. While I can’t technically call it paleo, I can definitely fall it “paleo-ish”.
It’s been awhile since I’ve posted a boozy drink on here so in the name of all things balance I have a new one for you and boy is it a task one! But since it’s been a bit of time, let’s chat about cocktails, balance (the magic word) and how things like this Dairy-Free Blended White Russian made using New Barn Barista almond milk can still fit into a healthy diet.
As you know, when I first transitioned to a paleo diet, I thought that meant I was swearing off all sorts of things like pizza, ice cream and alcohol forever. When you look at cleaning up your diet from that vantage point, it’s daunting. I mean, forever? Like I’m not going to have a pizza pocket and a hot toddy at my bunco nights 40 years from now? Puh-lease.
Then I take a peek at my 20’s and see just how much alcohol I consumed going out 3 to 4 nights a week (sadly, true) and realize there’s a healthy balance between those two scenarios. For me today that healthy balance lies in a drink or two whenever I feel like it. Sometimes that means zero times per week and sometimes on vacation that means every day.
Besides frequency and quantity of alcoholic drinks I also focus on the quality of what I’m consuming. First off, drinks with too much swagger wipe me out and leave me feeling less than stellar. Way less than stellar, so those are out too. I also don’t consume beverages with gluten anymore as I find I react strongly to the gluten. Instead I focus on drinks made with minimally processed ingredients and sweeten them with things like fruit juices.
Which brings me to this White Russian. You might have seen me making it over on my Instagram stories (if you’re not already following me over there, you really should… click here to do so) and the different variations I tried with it. While my tinkering around landed me on this blended version, you can also serve it it on the rocks.
The first way that I cleaned up with drink was to remove the dairy. Instead I used New Barn’s new Barista variety of almond milk that designed specifically to blend beautifully into hot or cold beverages. I’ve used salmon milk in other cocktails in the past and have always had an issue with it blending well as sometimes it curdles or separates. However, you won’t find that problem with the Barista blend and the consistency is even and smooth. In fact, it even foams up! The small amount of sugar added to it helps create the micro-foam. Not to mention the New Barn’s almond milks have 3 times the amount of almond most other brands to and they’re all made using organic ingredients.
Swapping the dairy out to the New Barn’s Barista blend was a no brainer. The alcohol was a bit trickier. The vodka was easy as I just used a gluten-free variety but the traditional Kahlua left me feeling like… like I didn’t want to include it. But a White Russian with no coffee liqueur? What the heck, I’ve always been one to break rules, so I left it out. Instead I just added in some coffee. I can’t say that I have a hard fast reason for eliminating it other than I wanted a better flavor for the drink and I think straight coffee would do the trick. I also added a bit of amaretto in add to the flavor.
What you have left is a yummy, frothy, blended libation that you might want seconds of!
And in case you missed it earlier this month, I created a Chamomile + Lavender Latte using New Barn’s Barista blend and it’s fab; it can be made either hot or cold and blends up perfectly and foamy every time. Go check it out!
Dairy-Free Blended White Russian
Ingredients
- 1 shot New Barn Barista Organic Almondmilk
- 1 shot gluten-free vodka
- 1 shot cold brew coffee
- 1 shot Kahlua
- 1/2 cup ice
Instructions
- Pour each ingredient over a cup of ice and enjoy.
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