DF Eggnog [RECIPE]

I have been on a hunt for good eggnog. This is like a life-long goal of mine, because I know good eggnog exists, I've had it and love it, but  it seems to be so hard to find. Many commercial eggnogs taste like bubble gum to me (something about the sweeteners, I believe), so even before dairy was out of my life this was an adventure. I was all ready to try SoDelicious after getting great reviews (including from personal friends), but I also ran into some bad reviews saying it basically tasted lke coconut milk with nutmeg...definitely not what I was looking for. So, I hop online and start searching for recipes, and many people in ti dairy free circle have almost identical recipes, so I decided if this many people had the same idea it must be good. So I give it a try, and it's ok but still not quite right. I found the recipes too thin, not eggy enough, and surprisingly over spiced. So back to Google I go, searching for real eggnog recipes, and even creme anglaise for comparison. Research in hand, I made my second attempt and I am in love. This is a custardy, rich, smooth drink and I want to share the recipe with you all.

Dairy-Free Eggnog
(also soy-free; include tree nuts & egg)

Ingredients:
8 eggs, separated
2 ¼ c unsweetened macadamia milk
14.5oz or 400ml can coconut cream
⅔ c sugar + 2 Tbsp
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp nutmeg
½ tsp cinnamon
dash allspice

Instructions:
Bring macadamia milk, coconut cream, vanilla, and spices to a simmer.
While your milk mixture is heating up, whisk together eggs & sugar.
Slowly temper milk mixture into egg mixture, drizzling about 1 cup of the milk mixture into your eggs before you pour the entire egg mixture back into your pot, whisking to combine.
Continue whisking over a simmer for 4-5 minutes, keeping temp low.

For a frothy & silky drink (optional):
Chill eggnog to at least room temperature
Beat eggs whites with remaining 2 Tbsp sugar until stiff peaks form
Whisk egg whites into eggnog

You do want to be careful while combining your milk & egg mixtures. Eggnog is essentially a loose custard, so you can break it. Overheating your eggs, or not allowing them to temper properly, can cause a grainy consistency. This can be fixed with an immersion blender, but you are better of keeping things low and slow.

Likewise, if you don't wait long enough to mix in your egg whites, your drink will also get clumpy. This is less likely due to having broken the custard, and I even had some difficulty with cold eggnog. Again you can easily correct this with an immersion blender.

Whether you choose to use the egg whites or not (it still tastes wonderful without them), you may notice your eggnog separates over time in the refrigerator. Just give it a quick stir before serving.

DF Veggie "Cream Cheese" Spread [RECIPE]

I've been craving a bagel with cream cheese, but there are some obvious hurdles: dairy allergy, and lack of goof fluffy bagels. My favorite bagel & cream cheese combo is from a little place in Marquette, Michigan called Third Street Bagel. They have the best veggie cream cheese ever, and their bagels are so light & fluffy, so they don't sit like stone weights in your stomach ;)

Locally, I've found 2 very good options for equally good bagels, Jake's Bagels & Deli in Aurora, IL and County Farm Bagels in Winfield, IL & Wheaton, IL. I had even figured out how to duplicate Third Street's veggie spread, but now I had to translate it to a dairy-free version. So I found a few recipes online, combined different pieces that I liked, adn the result is pretty good! I'm not sure I would like this spread without the veggies added, but as a whole it is delicious! It also works well for crackers!

Dairy-Free Veggie Cream Cheese Spread
1 cup raw cashews
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1½ Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or to taste)

1 tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper½ medium carrot, shredded
1 medium scallion (or small yellow onion), diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ medium red bell pepper, diced
1 fresh dill sprig (or ½ Tbsp dried)


Soak cashews for at least 4 hours, or overnight. You could start with boiling water to speed up the soak time to 1-2 hours if you are in a rush. Rinse and gently dry cashews with paper towel  to remove excess water.

Using a high speed blender or food processor, blend the nuts, oils, lemon juice, and spices. This takes a while, and you will probably have to stop ans scrape down the sides of your blender or food processor a few times. Continue blending until you get a smooth consistency. Your mix may be a bit warm at this point, and personally I was not super impressed with the flavor, but don't be discouraged!

Add in your veggies. You can do this by hand or add to your blender/food processor (personally, I chopped everything up fine, but still added to my food processor). Allow to chill in refrigerator before eating, as the cold helps the texture set up and improves the flavor. The longer you can wait, the better it will taste as all those flavors meld together!

I've heard this type of mix lasts for about 1 week in the refrigerator. To be honest I'm moving into week 2 right now and have not notice any spoilage, but trust your instincts. This makes a hefty amount of spread, so you may want to cut the recipe down or freeze half of it for later (I haven't tested freezing it yet, but I've read some success stories & have frozen other cashew based creamy items such as mini cheesecakes).

Dairy Free French Toast Breakfast Casserole [RECIPE]

The BF wanted a breakfast casserole over our 4-day Thanksgiving weekend. When he says breakfast casserole, I immediately think bake french toast. Blueberries & pecans also immediately jumped to mind, but jst because that sounded yummy at the time. So I looked up a few recipes for guidance, then set to making my own dairy-free baked french toast/bread pudding type dish.

As per usual, he walks out while I'm prepping. Normally, he is all for supporting dairy-free options, but he also lives on milk so when he sees the lack of dairy he goes into the meal skeptical (never mind all the times I just don't tell or wait until after the fact, and he never noticed!).

DF French Toast Breakfast Casserole (Optionally TNF)
1 baguette, cubed
1 c blueberries
1/4 c chopped pecans (or walnuts)

For Custard:
8 eggs
2 c almond milk
1/4 white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon

For Crumble:
1/4 brown sugar
1/4 c rolled oats
1/4 c chopped pecans (or walnuts)
2 Tbsp Fleischmann's margarine

Grease a 9x13 casserole dish
Add cubed bread & blueberries
Top with chopped pecans
Whisk together custard ingredients and pour over bread mixture
Cover and let sit in refrigerator overnight
Remove from refrigerator about 1 hour before baking
Cut margarine into other crumble ingredients
Top casserole before baking
Bake 350F for approximately 45 minutes
Serve with maple syrup

I did not have any on hand, but I bet this would be delicious with some orange juice added to the custard. I'm thinking about 2 Tbsp (maybe up to 1/4 cup). There's just something about orange juice & blueberries that works so well.

For a nut-free option, simply leave out the pecans. They are completely unnecessary, but a favorite of mine. There's enough sweetness in the casserole & other textures in the crumble topping to make this delicious.

Dairy-Free Potato Soup w/ Vegan Option [RECIPE]

It's been a while in the works, but I've finally translated my favorite potato soup recipe to be dairy-free. Reminiscent of a chowder, this creamy soup will be a hit in any home. It tastes just like a regular potato soup with cheese. This soup is so easy to make, you'll be wondering why you have't added it to your menu yet. I like to up the yum factor by making my own vegetable broth.

Ingredients
8-10 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled & cubed
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 c vegetable broth
3 Tbsp olive oil or butter substitute
¼ c flour
1 c veggemo or milk substitute
Salt, pepper, paprika, & parsley to taste

Optional:
1 lb bacon, chopped
2 stalks celery, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
1 onion, chopped
2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (or to taste)

Directions
Cook bacon and drain off, reserving ¼ c grease (if not using bacon or opting for a vegan soup, use 1/4 c olive oil or butter substitute with 1/4 tsp pepper).
Cook celery, carrots, and onions in bacon grease with a pinch of salt until translucent, 5 min.
Add garlic and saute 1-2 min.
Add potatoes, toss to coat, saute 3-4 min.
Add broth to cover potatoes. Cover and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 20 min.

In separate pan melt olive oil over medium heat.
Whisk in flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1-2 min.
Whisk in Veggemo, bring to a boil, and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
Stir mixture into potatoes.
Puree about ½ the soup (or not, if you like it chunky), then add nutritional yeast to taste.
Season with salt, pepper, paprika, and parsley to taste.

Add bacon in at end, or my personal preference is to wait and sprinkle on top when serving so the bacon stays crispy.

Dairy-Free/Vegan Apple Pie [Recipe]

This year, I was tasked with making desserts for both Thanksgivings (mine & the boyfriend's families). Pie was requested, and to accommodate a couple different pallets I ended up going with apple, which is super traditional anyway ;) Now, I have *never* made an apple pie, or a double-crust pie, so this was going to be an adventure. Luckily, everything was delicious! So now I am sharing the recipe with you all.

Dairy-Free/Vegan Apple Pie

Crust

4 c flour

2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c vegetable shortening

2 tsp white vinegar

1/2 - 3/4 c  cold water

Filling

6 large apples, peeled & sliced

1/2 c brown sugar

1/4 c white sugar

2 Tbsp flour

1 tsp cinnamon/apple pie spice

2 Tbsp lemon juice (optional)

2 Tbsp coconut oil

To make the crust: In a medium bowl, mix together flour and salt; cut in shortening until mixture is crumbly. Gradually add vinegar and water, 1 Tbsp at a time until mixture will hold together. Divide dough into 2, pressing each half into a ball/disc lightly floured on each side, then wrap in plastic and chill 1 hour. Roll out between wax paper into circles 1/8 inch thick and press 1 crust into 9 inch pie pan.

Mix apples, sugar, flour and cinnamon or apple pie spice together. Sprinkle lemon juice and melted coconut oil over the top. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust and top with other crust (make sure to use a pie bird or cut vent slits into the top crust, or if you are feeling artistic go ahead and whip up a lattice top). If desired, brush an egg wash over the top of your pie. Bake in 350F preheated oven until the top is golden brown (about 40 min).

If you need to prep your pie in advance, there are a suggestions you can follow to avoid a soggy bottom. First, just wait to fill your pie until you are ready to bake. This is super simple, but may not really save you much time if you are doing an elaborate top crust. Your other options are to either blind bake the bottom crust or freeze the completed/unbaked pie (if using a glass or ceramic pie dish, make sure you let it defrost on a counter for at least 30 minutes to an hour before placing into the oven, and add another 20-30 minutes baking time).

Some other tips & tricks I've discovered when it comes to prepping in advance involve creating a barrier between your crust and wet filling (typically fruit pies), such as brushing some egg wash or shortening over the crust to create a fat layer between the crust and filling. I've also read that preheating a sheet with the oven and baking your pie on that helps with a crisp bottom crust (it also helps catch and spillage, which does happen with fruit pies, so why not?).

The other dessert we made was white chocolate mousse! I am still working on perfecting that recipe (we brought attempt #2, which was delicious and the texture was *almost* there, but it still needs a little bit of work). You can expect to see that recipe posted once I am done adjusting it.

Brownies [Recipe]

Today I made cheesecake bars for my boyfriend, because I am a good person. I did not have Daiya on hand (which I have not even tested out in a baked capacity yet), so he got real cream cheese. I had a hankering for something sweet after dinner and decided to make myself brownies. I adapted my favorite brownie recipe to remove the little bit of dairy and they turned out pretty delicious! I couldn't even tell the difference.

Brownies
1/2 c white sugar
2 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 c dairy-free chocolate chips*
2 eggs
1/3 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 c flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 325 F
Melt sugar, coconut oil, and water in saucepan over medium heat
Remove from heat & stir in chocolate chips until melted/smooth
Mix in eggs & vanilla
Combine remaining dry ingredients and stir in to chocolate mixture
Pour batter into greased and floured 8x8 inch baking pan
Bake 25-30 minutes

You can mix in anything you like, such as cocoa nibs, nuts, etc
You can also top or swirl in other additives (today I swirled in some peanut butter on the top)

*I used mostly Enjoy Life dark chocolate chips, but was just short of 1 1/2 cups, so had to sub Chatfield's carob chips to make up the rest.

Coconut Bliss & Butterscotch Malts [Recipe]

I keep coming back to ice cream...seriously this is one of the hardest parts of going dairy-free. Well, that and cheese. Anyway I came across Coconut Bliss at my local Jewel (very limited flavor selection, but I believe you can most if not all their flavors at Whole Foods), and decided to give it a try. You guys, this is it! This is seriously the best ice cream sub I have found. The texture and melt are perfect! The only downside is you will definitely get that hint of coconut, it does not go away. I haven't tried every flavor, but of the 6 I've tried so far this has only been off-putting in their Vanilla Island. And in all honesty, it was only an issue for me when eaten plain; I loved topping apple pie with this flavor! If you can have, and like the taste of, coconut, then definitely try this stuff out. They even have ice cream bars and other treats.

Now... ever since I was little, I've loved butterscotch malts. They were a special thing I shared with my dad. Ever since I've been dairy free, I knew this was something I would probably have to give up. However, now that I found an ice cream I like, I was on the hunt to make my own malt!

Butterscotch Malt

2 scoops Coconut Bliss vanilla island
1 cup coconut milk
3 Tbsp non-diastatic barley malt powder
3 Tbsp Jello instant butterscotch pudding mix*

* I plan to replace this with a home-made dairy-free butterscotch syrup next time, but was way too impatient once my malt arrived n_~

My next adventure will be converting a garlic cream sauce to dairy-free. The guys love when I make it with chicken (or sometimes I even make a sort of chicken alfredo), and honestly I love it too. If that is successful, you can expect a new post soon!

Naturally Dairy Free Recipe List

Going dairy-free is not exactly easy, especially if you are used to having lots of dairy in your life. I personally love cheese, cream, pretty much anything that isn't straight up milk, and I certainly don't want to give up the flavors and textures that I love. I also live with a big dairy lover, and I get a lot of resistance to trying out the substitutes. Some of it is just stubbornness or being afraid flavors will change too much, some of it is general distaste of what the substitute is or consists of. As I'm sure you have and will continue to read, some substitutes just aren't for me or just aren't for certain applications.

I will also say that trying to redo your favorite recipes with subs just will not live up to your standards, at least not right away. You are looking for that dairy taste and feel, and it will never be the same (close, but not the same). There is definitely some wisdom to the idea of going cold turkey before trying out the subs. This concept is applied to all kinds of life changes including various diets. It is often easier to cut it all out and then when you have that down and under control, you can start adding it back in (or in this case, start using subs). Part of this is that you have gotten used to living without, so you won't be searching for that dairy-heavy feel. The other part is the distance from dairy will make the changes in taste and texture of the subs easier to manage and adjust to.

I have decided to start looking for and creating more recipes that are 100% dairy-free naturally, meaning the recipe just does not call for any dairy or subs. Since I had a hard time tracking down recipes like this, I decided to keep the list on my blog to help some of you out. In the future I may start collection recipes utilizing subs as well, but I will keep them separate. So feel free to heck out my list via the link or using the "My Favorite Recipes" tab above.

Sweet Potato Chicken [Recipe]

A while ago my roommate found a recipe for double-baked chicken stuffed sweet potatoes. We've made a few adjustments here and there, and now I have a dairy-free recipe that I think is perfect for a meal. Served casserole style this is a great family meal, or eat it all week as it reheats wonderfully!

Ingredients
3 chicken breasts
3 sweet potatoes
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 onion, diced,
8 oz button mushrooms, diced
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne
olive oil
salt and pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 F.
Bake potatoes until soft (approximately 1 hr).
Meanwhile season chicken breasts with salt and pepper.
Grill or cook in skillet with olive oil until cooked through (approximately 20 minutes).
Shred chicken and set aside.
Saute veggies in olive oil, seasoned with salt and pepper, until mushrooms no longer release liquid.
Take potatoes out of oven and scoop soft insides out; mash.
Mix potatoes, chicken, veggies, brown sugar, and spices in 9 x 13 casserole dish.
Bake 15-20 minutes.

Dairy-Free Creamed Corn Maque Choux [Recipe]

This is one of our favorite side dishes, so I wanted to find a way to still be able to enjoy it. The obvious answer is to just remove the cream and make Corn Maque Choux, but I really like what it adds to the dish. This version went over great with the boyfriend, who normally shudders at the dea of replacing cream in anything. Granted he does enjoy the taste of coconut, but it really gets lost amongst all the other flavors so shouldn't be an issue for anyone afraid the coconut will be overpowering.

Ingredients
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 c corn (about 6 ears or 16-20 oz frozen)
1/2 large yellow onion, diced
1 small red or green bell pepper, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 can culinary full fat coconut milk
1 Tbsp flour
1 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp creole seasoning (depending on taste)*

Directions
Heat oil in skillet.
Add garlic, onion, and peppers. Season with salt and saute until onions are translucent.
Add corn and saute 1-2 minutes.
Sprinkle in flour and stir until no clumps.
Slowly stir in coconut milk, bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.
Add creole seasoning and allow to simmer until thickened.

* I use Emeril's creole essence, but you can make your own mix or use a premade. My sister's fiance uses Tony Chachere's which he LOVES and puts on everything n_~

Avocado Alfredo

Guys! I just tried the most delicious pasta recipe. It tastes a lot like an alfredo sauce, although if you choose to leave the mooch out it is still pretty tasty. If you can get over how super green the sauce is when you are preparing it, you should definitely give this a try. A lovely lady over in the Deliciously Dairy Free Facebook group posted her recipe, and I barely made any changes lol. So here it is for you to enjoy:

8 oz dry pasta, cooked (1/2 box)
1 c milk alternative (I used unsweetened almond)
1 avocado, mashed
2 tsp oil (I used olive)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp each: black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder
1/2-1 tsp nutritional yeast (to taste)
1-2 dash white pepper

While your pasta is cooking, warm up the milk in a small sauce pan.
Whisk in mashed avocado and oil until smooth (bring to boil and simmer a few minutes if too thin).
Stir in spices and adjust to taste.
Toss sauce with cooked and drained pasta.

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Dip

I'm going to a Halloween party tonight and wanted to bring a sweet treat I could enjoy (I've also got a friend w/ Crohn's going and one of the hosts is lactose-intolerant). So I did some digging around for DF recipes, but in the end adapted one I've used in the past with DF subs. It turned out great, and nobody could tell there was no dairy!

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie Dip
1 c pureed pumpkin (not pie filling)
8 oz df cream cheese (I used Daiya regular)
½ c powdered sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice*
8 oz df whipped topping (I used So Delicious cocowhip, regular not lite)

Let cream cheese and whipped topping soften before making the dip.
Beat together cream cheese, pumpkin puree, powdered sugar, and pumpkin pie spice.
Fold/stir in whipped topping.
Keep refrigerated.

Serve with graham crackers or ginger snaps (I used the TJ brand GF ginger snaps). Alternately, you could crush up the crackers/cookies and do a traditional graham cracker style crust using your favorite DF butter sub and some sugar. I thought about doing this and making mini pumpkin cream pies in a muffin tin, but I am lazy and have leftover pumpkin puree to use up (I'm thinking granola!).

*You can buy pre made pumpkin pie spice or mix up your own. I use the same spices in a variety of other things (including apple pie spice), so I just use this recipe:

Pumpkin Pie Spice
3 Tbsp ground cinnamon
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 ½ tsp ground nutmeg
¾ tsp allspice
½ tsp ground cloves

Dairy Free/Vegan Almond Joy Creamer [Recipe]

I know there are tons of these recipes around, but I was lazy and looking for something that required a little less work, and ideally no extracts.

1 can Nature's Choice sweetened condensed coconut milk
1 can (approx 3/4 cup) Almond Breeze Vanilla
1.5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
0.5 Tbsp amaretto (or 3/8 tsp almond extract; a few drops almond oil)

This breaks down to about 2 calories per Tbsp, or more likely 53 calories per serving.

There's definitely some tweaking that could be done. I had vanilla almond milk on hand, so I'm not sure how much vanilla you would need/want if you used plain. Same if you used unsweetened almond milk, although the sweetened condensed coconut milk may be enough without extra sugar (it was like the filling of an almond joy when I tasted it!). As for the almond extract, you can sub it out, or I think if you used a plain almond milk and did not add any vanilla it would work as well.

If I get a chance to revisit this, I will update you with the results. Feel free to share if you give this a go or make any changes yourself!

Dairy-Free Cheese?

So, I reached out to friends on Facebook to inquire about dairy-free cheese. I've got a buddy whose dad is allergic to milk, so he and his wife have been a huge resource. They are actually the ones who recommended most of my ice cream choices. I've heard the horror stories about dairy-free cheese, so I hoped they would have some suggestions. So far the only good brands I've gotten recommended to me are Chao and Treeline (although I've also heard good things on forums about Daiya and Kite Hill). Since the stores by me don't carry any of these options, and some are rather expensive, I decided to to some investigating.

Go Dairy Free actually had some great suggestions, and even shared a recipe for feta! I love feta, and while I haven't tried this yet it sounds delicious. This recipe is actually an excerpt from Miyoko Schinner's book The Homemade Vegan Pantry. Now, I'm not vegan, and since the recipe was already posted (with permission), I have not picked up this book...yet. There are apparently some more cheese recipes and things like custard so it could still be worth a look. However, it was enough to make me look at Miyoko's books and I found (and bought) Artisan Vegan Cheese. This was a super exciting find for me and includes some more favorites of mine like sharp cheddar (also shared w/ permission by Alisa at Go Dairy Free), chevre (or goat cheese), parmesan, and brie.

I'm hoping to make a trip out to some of the more "specialty" grocery stores in the area to pick up teh ingredients and give the above mentioned cheeses a go. Be sure to check back for reviews and pictures once they happen!

Dole Whip

I've come across this recipe in the past, but it popped up again on my feed today and in light of my new adventure I decided I wanted to give it a try.

First of all, if you attempt this I highly recommend a food processor. I've tried this in both a large blender (although maybe not high power enough? also I only did 1/4 of the recipe for a single serving), and a small personal sized blender (16 oz). I was not able to get the pineapple fully processed, so those chunks were rather jarring in terms of both texture and flavor.

That being said, I love this! Oh so smooth and creamy. The pineapple is such a subtle flavor, which surprised me given the 4:1. This is so light and refreshing, and reminded me of a sherbet. I'm seriously considering attempting this with other fruits (especially lime...man, do I miss lime sherbet). Also, for those of you who don't like or can't have pineapple, I think it would be worth attempting with other fruits. I'm sure you could use any non-dairy milk of your choice, as Gemma even says she's used the light coconut milk so you know fat content isn't make or break.

I'm getting a suspicion that most of what you will be reading about here will be ice cream related...Over time hopefully that will change! Then again, nothing wrong with a dairy-free dessert blog, right?

Update 9/16/16: If you have a stick/hand/immersion blender, I have found that works rather well when making a single serving. If it came with a vessel, pour everything into there, otherwise use a tall/narrow container large enough for your blender to fit into.

Cookie Dough Protein Bites

My mom sent me this recipe and it tastes just like chocolate chip cookie dough! These little bites are quite filling too. 1-2 is a great snack and will fill you up for a while. I made a few tweaks though, so I am sharing the updated version. If you want to beef up the protein you cold add some vanilla or chocolate protein powder (no more than 1/2 scoop).

1 c oats
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 c almonds
1 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp coconut oil
3 Tbsp dark chocolate chips

Blend oats, flax, and almonds together until powdery. Alternately, you could use ground flax meal and almond flour (that's what I did, and I left the oats whole). Stir in the remaining ingredients. Form into balls or bites and refrigerate. I normally pack this into a small square container, let it set up over night (or freeze for a couple hours) and cut into 16 bites.

If you don't have coconut oil, you can sub in coconut butter but you will need an additional 1/2 Tbsp coconut butter and honey to get it to mix up and stay together.

Dairy-Free Protein Shakes/Smoothies

Before I thought of doing a dairy-free blog, I posted this smoothie recipe on my other blog. Those dairy-free protein powders are too expensive for me, so I whipped up my own substitute. Not quite as packed with protein, but still contains a large amount. I've got a buddy who is really into the protein powders, working out, etc and he's told me that the amount of protein you get in one of those shakes is more than your body can process anyway. The difference is only 7-5 g anyway, which I feel is negligible.

1/2 - 1 cup non-dairy milk*
2 Tbsp flax seed
1 Tbsp almond butter
1/2 banana

Nutrition Facts (base only):
228-278 calories
12-14 g fat
360-485 mg potassium
23-27 g carbohydrates
      6-7 g fiber
      10-12 g sugar
9-13 g protein  

I'm a big smoothie person; they are my go to breakfast. So, I normally just pack up 1-2 cups of fruit/veggies/greens along with the banana in a small container or bag and freeze them up ahead of time. Then just dump into a blender, add the non-dairy milk, almond butter, and flax seed, and blend away. No ice needed. They make very thick smoothies, almost like an ice cream shake. Also, for those of you who aren't a fan of bananas (that would be me), only using half adds protein and substance without an overpowering flavor.

*for these purposes, the amounts are based off soy milk (Soy Dream original enriched), although I often use vanilla almond milk (or whatever is on sale).