Chai Tai Smoothie for Full GAPS

This Chai Tai smoothie has the cinnamon, ginger and cardamom flavor of chai in a cold, creamy drink. Frozen ripe bananas give it body, dates supply the sweetness, and homemade almond milk and fresh coconut water make the base. There is no tea to brew or sweetened chai mix to buy.

The recipe makes two servings. Have the almond milk made and the sliced bananas frozen before you start; the blending itself takes thirty to sixty seconds. The spice balance comes from Tess Masters’s Chai Tai smoothie, shared at Deliciously Organic. Use the homemade milk and fresh coconut water described below for this Full GAPS version.

Have the Ingredients Ready

Use plain, unsweetened homemade almond milk from properly prepared almonds. The GAPS nut-milk method soaks the almonds for twelve to twenty-four hours, drains them, blends them with fresh water and strains out the pulp. Have the finished milk ready, shake or stir it, then measure the cup this smoothie needs.

I use an Almond Cow for nut milks and my Ninja BN801 when a recipe needs a blender. Making the milk is a separate preparation; the smoothie goes into the Ninja pitcher. You can use your own suitable blender without buying the same model.

Coconut water is the liquid inside a coconut, not coconut milk made from its flesh. Use a cup drained from sound fresh coconuts, straining out any shell fragments. It should taste fresh and mildly sweet. Discard a coconut with rancid-tasting liquid. Keep the fresh coconut water for this recipe; thick coconut milk would change the drink.

Let the bananas develop brown spots on their peels before you peel, slice and freeze them. Keep all the slices from two medium bananas for the batch. Frozen ripe fruit makes the smoothie creamy; green-tipped bananas are not the right starting point for this Full GAPS recipe.

Measure a quarter cup of pitted dates without syrup, preservatives or other additives. Check for pieces of pit as you go. If your blender needs softened dates, soak that measured portion until soft, drain it and use the whole portion. Add one teaspoon of homemade vanilla extract. It adds aroma; the dates and bananas provide the sweetness.

Measure the Chai Spices Separately

The card uses half a teaspoon of cinnamon, a quarter teaspoon of ginger, an eighth teaspoon each of nutmeg and cardamom, and a pinch of cloves. Use plain ground spices. Cinnamon is the main flavor, with smaller amounts of the others giving warmth and aroma. Measuring them individually keeps a strong clove or cardamom flavor from overwhelming the fruit.

Keep the pinch of sea salt and optional cup of ice separate from the spices until you load the blender. The ice makes the drink colder and more slushy. You can leave it out while keeping every other ingredient at the listed amount.

Blend Until Smooth and Creamy

1. Pour the measured almond milk and fresh coconut water into the blender pitcher. Add the dates, vanilla, ground spices and pinch of salt.
2. Add all the frozen slices from the two bananas, followed by the optional ice. Fit the pitcher and lid securely according to your blender’s instructions.
3. Blend on high for thirty to sixty seconds, until the mixture is evenly pale tan and creamy. Watch for the separate banana pieces and date fragments to disappear. Fine spice flecks are expected; hard pieces of fruit are not.
4. Stop the blender before opening it. If the contents are stuck above the blades, switch off and unplug the machine, wait until the blades stop, then loosen the contents with a spatula. Remove the spatula, refit the lid and finish blending.
5. Divide evenly between two glasses and serve right away.

The finished drink should pour smoothly, with a little foam at the top and the same color throughout. A gritty mouthful means the dates or frozen fruit need more blending. If your machine struggles with the frozen load, leave out the optional ice rather than pouring in unmeasured extra liquid.

Where It Fits on GAPS

This is a Full GAPS snack for someone who already tolerates the prepared almonds, raw ripe fruit and other ingredients. It is not an Introduction Diet recipe. Raw fruit comes after cooked fruit is tolerated and stool is consistently normal; fruit waits when diarrhea or abdominal pain is present.

Have this cold fruit smoothie between meals. Keep warm meat stock with meals, and do not use a sweet smoothie in place of the foods at the center of GAPS. The plain almond-milk formula contains nuts and has no egg or dairy ingredients. It is a whole-fruit smoothie, a different preparation from the fresh-pressed juice, egg and fat drink called a GAPS shake.

Serving, Storage and Larger Batches

Make it when you plan to drink it. Its just-blended texture softens as the banana and ice thaw, so serve it straight from the blender. Prepare the milk and frozen banana slices ahead instead.

The 2× card makes four servings. Keep within your blender’s maximum fill line and working capacity. If the doubled frozen load is too much, make two original-size batches and divide both evenly. The blending time and endpoint do not automatically double.

Recommended Equipment

Use a suitable blender with its matching pitcher and lid; mine is the Ninja BN801. You also need liquid and dry measuring cups, measuring spoons including an eighth-teaspoon measure, a small bowl for any date soaking, a spatula used only with the machine off, and two serving glasses. A covered freezer container holds the banana slices before blending.

Questions Before You Blend

Does Chai Mean There Is Tea in It?

There is no brewed tea in this recipe. The chai flavor comes from the five measured spices, vanilla and fruit.

Can I Use Coconut Milk Instead of Coconut Water?

Keep the fresh coconut water. Coconut milk is made from the flesh and would change the richness and liquid balance. This recipe already has its measured cup of almond milk.

Do I Need to Add Honey?

No honey is included. Dates and fully ripe bananas sweeten this formula. Blend them completely before judging the texture.

Do I Have to Use the Ice?

No. It is an optional measured cup. Leaving it out gives a less icy drink and can help a blender that struggles with frozen fruit. The bananas should still be frozen.

More Homemade Drinks

For a fruitier option, try the separate blueberry banana smoothie. Keep homemade vanilla ready for either drink when its recipe calls for it. If you want more help planning homemade drinks, Juices & GAPS Milkshakes is a planned WFLI course; find current and upcoming resources in the shop.