Today, I want to share one of my family’s all-time favorite beverages. Introducing…the Unicorn Milkshake!
Okay, it’s really a smoothie. But it is so sweet, creamy, and yummy, it actually tastes like a milkshake.
Plus, it’s packed with healthy ingredients (even kale or spinach!). So, I feel good about serving it as a special treat.
I also occasionally make this smoothie at meal time when I think the rest of my food options might not be as well-received by the kids. At the very least, they’ll drain their smoothie glasses and get a bunch of nutrients.
We call this a Unicorn Milkshake because of its vibrant, unicorn-esque color. Topped with coconut whip and rainbow sprinkles, it really delivers on the unicorn vibes. And my kids love unicorns, so it was destined to become a favorite.
The color in this milkshake/smoothie actually comes from dragon fruit. If you’ve never had fresh dragon fruit before, it’s beautiful, really easy to prepare, healthy, and has a mild, juicy flavor with a bit of crunch from the seeds. You can learn more about this superfood here.
We live in Southern California and were lucky enough to get fresh dragon fruit in our CSA box from JR Organics this summer. But when it’s not in season, we like the frozen Pitaya Dragon Fruit Smoothie Packs.
You’re going to love this Unicorn Milkshake! It’s dairy free, vegan, gluten free, healthy, allergy-friendly, magical, and absolutely delicious.
And, it’s fun to make with kids too so you can easily turn it into an activity. My little ones get the biggest thrill from adding ingredients to the blender, pressing the magic button, and of course adding their own sprinkles.
Unicorn Milkshake (Smoothie) Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup of frozen mango
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 ½ cups of almond milk (Califia Unsweetened Vanilla is the best for the vanilla ice cream flavor)
- ¼ cup raw cashews
- A big handful of spinach or a couple of kale leaves
- 2 Pitaya Dragon Fruit frozen smoothie packs
- Coconut whipped topping (we like Coco Whip)
- Sprinkles
Directions
Starting on low, blend everything except the Coco Whip and sprinkles. Increase blender speed and blend until smooth (about 45 seconds). Top with Coco Whip and sprinkles. Enjoy!
You can soak the cashews in water for a few hours, drain them, and then blend them to get an even more creamy consistency. I always forget to soak them and just throw them in raw, but they blend up really well in my Vitamix.
A Few Food Allergy Notes
My family is managing several, complex food allergies including several specific tree nuts.
To help manage the tree nut allergy, our doctor recommended consistently eating the nuts that are tolerable (in our case, cashews and almonds). Hopefully, consistent exposure will help to avoid developing an allergy to cashews and almonds later on.
We drink a lot of almond milk, so that wasn’t an issue, but apart from cashew queso (recipe coming soon), I wasn’t sure how to make sure cashews are a steady part of our diet.
My youngest is still too young for raw nuts, so I started throwing cashews into our smoothies. As an added bonus, they add a lovely creamy flavor.
If tree nuts are problematic for your family, you can skip the cashews and use an almond milk alternative in the Unicorn Milkshake/Smoothie.
Where else to get Dragon Fruit?
If your grocery store doesn’t carry the frozen pitaya dragon fruit smoothie packs, I recently discovered Freeze Dried Dragon Fruit Powder at Thrive Market. A couple of tablespoons of powder should be roughly the same equivalent as the frozen packs. I’ve also mixed a bit of the powder in with hemp seed hearts to make bright pink, healthy sprinkles.
In case you don’t know about Thrive Market, it’s a wonderful online grocery store chock full of healthy and allergy friendly foods, cleaning supplies, health and beauty, and more. Their boxes are sturdy and great for recycled projects too!
Book Recommendations
If your kids are into unicorns as much as mine are, here are a few of our favorite unicorn books.
If you shop through the Barefoot Carrot Bookshop links, I will earn a small commission and appreciate your support!
More Unicorn Fun
Another unicorn activity the whole family can enjoy is this awesome Unicorn Sticker Puzzle. We put ours together during the Covid stay at home order. The kids thought it was a lot of fun and I found it really relaxing and meditative!
What Will You Create?
If you try the Unicorn Milkshake, we’d love to hear what you think! Happy blending!
