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When I left LA there were certain things I was worried about missing – friends, the weather, palm trees, mountains, the ocean, Sundays wandering the sun-drenched streets of Old Town, and such a wealth of vegan restaurants that I barely scratched the surface in my 13 years there…
(Someone hold me. Please.)
Nestled in that grouping of loved people, places, and things was the delectably green and enticing sweet kale shake from SunCafé in Studio City.
Whenever I’d visit their restaurant, I’d overhear people ask with some derision about the shake…
“A kale shake?”
The next sounds I heard from them would occur twenty minutes later when they were eagerly slurping up the final creamy droplets at the bottom of the glass.
Sometimes I’d drive to Studio City for the sole reason of attaining one – so filling, a dessert emblazoned with the goodness of kale.
Now that Studio City is hours away even by plane, I’ve been eager to recreate the shake for myself.
Unfortunately, with no Vitamix or other high-speed blender to attain the silky smooth quality that is vital, it seemed an impossible dream.
Then recently, it hit me that the same coffee grinder that I use to grind flax seed for smoothies could also be used to turn raw cashews into a light flour or meal that would melt in a green shake.
So after some trial and error, I bring you this little bit of LA sunshine in a frosty cup. It’s So Cal with a straw.
I don’t have a sweet kale shake here for a side-by-side comparison, of course (but if you want to mail one to me could you also include some wots from Rahel?). However, I think it’s a hit, a palpable hit.
This full-bodied shake is a wonderful treat in the work refrigerator when hunger hits around 11:00.
It would also be fun for a Wizard of Oz themed party. It could be called the Wicked Witch of the West – post bucket. What a world. What a world.
Whatever you call it, you’ll have to say it in the moments before the shake lands in front of your hot little hands. After that, your mouth will be gloriously full.
Cashew Kale Shake
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 leaves kale without center rib – about 3 ½ cups (Curly kale is my favorite)
- 3/4 cup vanilla soy milk Can be replaced with any non-dairy milk or water
- 1/3 heaping cup raw cashews
- 2 Tablespoons flaxseed
- 3 bananas broken into chunks and frozen
- 6 ice cubes
Instructions
- Blend kale and vanilla soy milk in blender until completely smooth. (You may need to stop the blender and stir for complete blending.)
- Grind the cashews and flax seed in a coffee grinder until they become a smooth meal.
- Add the frozen bananas, cashews and flax meal to the blender. Blend.
- After it is fully blended, add the ice cubes and blend to desired consistency.
- Pour into two glasses & serve!
Video
Nutrition
Amanda says
July 7, 2011 at 9:08 pmThat shake looks like a creamy green dream! Slurp!
Suburban Snow White says
July 8, 2011 at 5:33 pmIn the past week, actually, I’ve been putting kale in my morning smoothies and they’re delicious! A great way to get extra greens in too … I wash and cut up the kale as soon as I get back from the market and bag it. Then I can just grab a couple of handfuls each morning and throw them into my morning smoothies. Easy!
Sonnet says
December 16, 2011 at 9:12 amThis has my name written all over it… I don’t have a coffee grinder so I will probably soak the cashews and then blend them in. Love it! 🙂
Lauren says
December 18, 2011 at 12:10 pmI am obsessed with the Sweet Kale Shake! Because I live on the East Coast, I worked hard at recreating this amazing green smoothie so I could have one more than twice a year. I make the shake the same way you do but I also add about half a teaspoon of almond extract. It seems to be the secret ingredient! I have one for breakfast practically every morning.
cadryskitchen says
December 18, 2011 at 8:54 pmAlmond extract! Ingenius! I’ll have to pick some up tomorrow and try it for myself. I have this shake for multiple times a week for breakfast. I look forward to trying your variation!
VallieGurl says
December 31, 2012 at 12:11 pmI remember smelling the almond extract the first time I had it with a friend! Glad to see it showed up in the comments. But, what about the decor on top of the original – is it hemp seeds or minced pistachio?? I’ll try and find out next time.LOL
Cadry says
January 2, 2013 at 12:31 pmYes, find out for me! 😀 There are definitely goji berries on top, and it looks like it might be shaved almonds. Whatever it is, that shake is downright addictive!
Anonymous says
May 10, 2014 at 2:40 pmIt’s shaved coconut and goji berries 🙂
Cadry says
May 10, 2014 at 2:59 pmGreat! Thanks for letting me know!
Earthfood Experiment (@ChandraNicole) says
February 23, 2012 at 10:54 amI made this again this morning for my daughter and my boyfriend. They’re in love.
All I had was unsweetened coconut milk beverage though, so I used that then added a splash of Vanilla Extract and a tiny bit of Maple Syrup… Delicious!!
I’m gonna have to get more bananas!
Cadry's Kitchen says
February 25, 2012 at 10:34 amExcellent! I’m glad you’re enjoying it! Your add-ins sound very tasty! That’s the thing that’s great about smoothies – whatever adjustments you make or the ways that you variety it, it’s almost always still delicious!
dkraven74 says
April 18, 2012 at 5:42 pmlooks very very interesting to make, i love kale as well. but never tried it in a smoothie. i was wondering can u make this the night before and just refrigerate it for the next morning. curious.
admin says
April 19, 2012 at 11:50 amSure, you could make it the night before. The viscosity might change a little bit. It may not have quite the same whippy consistency as it would fresh, but I’m sure it would still taste good. If you do it that way, let me know how it works out for you!
Ty says
June 1, 2012 at 11:02 amI love this smoothie! I use almond milk and cashew butter but the flavor combo is amazing. And it’s weird how the kale actually makes it taste better than the banana and cashews on their own.
Cadry says
June 4, 2012 at 8:34 amSo happy to hear that you like it! That’s a good idea to use cashew butter for easier blending!
Anonymous says
January 7, 2013 at 10:31 amI’ll be trying this recipe this week. I’m looking for alternatives to yogurt as an ingredient. This might be the one!! Any other suggestions?
Anonymous says
March 25, 2013 at 8:52 pmThe topping is shredded coconut & gogi berries
Cadry says
March 25, 2013 at 9:18 pmThanks for letting me know!
Anonymous says
July 23, 2014 at 5:47 pmTheir menu says it has agave syrup, how would you add this to your recipe?
Cadry says
July 23, 2014 at 7:21 pmI wouldn’t, actually. I think any flavor of the agave syrup would be overpowered by the taste of banana & vanilla in this shake. So at that point, you’re just getting additional sweetness. With 3 bananas, I wouldn’t want it any sweeter than it already is now. However, if you’d like it to be sweeter, you could either add agave syrup at the same time as you add the soy milk or when you add the bananas.