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Can you possibly imagine confusing delicious, moist, sweet Medjool dates with prunes? That’s the association Lisa Bryan, writing at Downshiftology, had when she was a teenager, and she speaks in her post about this delicious banana, date and cashew smoothie.
Nutrient-rich dates are high in natural sugar and that means they are great for sweetening smoothies. 4 small dates are about 80 calories but 1 large Medjool date is about 60 calories. However, they are also rich in fiber.
Fiber is essential in a healthy diet and dates are rich in soluble fiber. So while they are high in sugar they are actually a low-glycemic index food because they slow down the absorption of sugar into the blood stream thus preventing unhealthy spikes. Soluble fiber also slows digestion in the stomach therefore making you feel full for longer.
Dates are also a great source of potassium, manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as having significant amounts of calcium, iron, vitamin K and B vitamins, including vitamin B-6 and folate. They are also a rich source of antioxidants that protect our cells.
Back to Lisa’s dates story. She says …
I still remember the first time I had a date shake. I’d actually avoided them for years on all our family trips to the desert. As a teenager, dates were the equivalent of prunes in my books, dark wrinkly and gross, so why on earth would I put either into a creamy vanilla milkshake?!
In my early 20’s my mom and I headed to Palm Springs for a girls weekend and I thought, alright, I’ll taste what all the fuss is about. So we hit up the historic Shield’s Date Garden and I still remember my mom laughing when a smile creeped up on my face and I blurted out, “oh, this is really good!” From that point on, I was a date shake lover.
Please turn to the Next Page (click button below) for the recipe …
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Recipe: Banana Date and Cashew Smoothie
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- ? cup raw Cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours
- 6 Medjool* Dates, pitted and soaked for 10 minutes
- 1 Banana, sliced and frozen
- ¾ cup Water
- 2 cups Ice
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- ¼ tsp Nutmeg
- pinch of Cinnamon
- pinch of Sea Salt
* You can substitute small dates and will need 3 small dates for each Medjool date. This will keep the calorie value similar.
Blend until smooth and enjoy.
Source: Downshiftology
Photo: Downshiftology
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