Recipes, Photography, Musings

Soothing Smoothie

Soothe your soul and calm your nerves with this smoothie.  Medjool dates, banana, almond milk, vanilla, and a handful of chocolate chips give it a luxurious taste and lots of important vitamins and minerals.  Normally I would crave a warm drink in the middle of winter, but for some reason, this smoothie hits the spot right now.  Maybe my body is craving the minerals that dates and bananas contain.  And almond milk is so smooth and creamy.  In any case, it tastes decadent and comforting, though it is really quite healthy.

soothing smoothie 5Maybe it’s partly because of the New Year, and maybe it’s partly because my husband will have knee surgery soon, but I have been searching for new ways to eat well.  (We already eat really well, but there’s always room for improvement!)  He and I want to find  foods full of nutrition to help his body heal faster after his surgery.  He recently got a new book called “Thrive Energy Cookbook” by Brendan Brazier.  This book looks really interesting, and has all plant-based recipes.  I am not wanting to go completely vegan or gluten-free at all.  However, I am always interested in expanding my knowledge of food and how what we eat affects how we feel, and I would love to incorporate more plant-based foods into my diet.

soothing smoothie 7Using dates in a smoothie is something new for me, and I really, really like it.  This smoothie recipe is very loosely adapted from a recipe I found in the “Thrive” cookbook.  I say very loosely, because I changed it quite a bit, except for the idea of using dates in a smoothie, for which I am very grateful.  It tastes sweet and flavorful without using much sugar (just from the little bit of chocolate chips, and the almond milk is unsweetened), because the dates are naturally sweet.  If you are wanting to cut back on dairy, or just like the taste of almond milk, this is a great option.  Or to make this a vegan smoothie, just substitute vegan chocolate chips for traditional chocolate chips.

Smoothies are so easy to throw together, and this one tastes delicious–kind of like an ice cream shake, yet it is full of lots of nutrition to make us feel good, and the creamy, smooth texture is calming.  It feels like a tonic for my sometimes-frazzled nerves.  This recipe is for just one serving.  If you are making smoothies for more than one person, just double or triple the recipe accordingly.  I hope you all have a great weekend! Fiesta Friday is happening right now, and I am taking this recipe there! As always, coordinated by Angie, and co-hosted this week by Sonal @ Simply Vegetarian 777 and Petra @ Food Eat Love.soothing smoothie with spoons 2soothing smoothie with banana

Soothing Smoothie

  • Servings: 1
  • Print

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup of unsweetened almond milk
  • 1 banana, sliced
  • 2 medjool dates, pitted
  • 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips
  • 4-5 ice cubes

Directions:

Place all the ingredients in a blender.  Blend until smooth.  Some flecks of date and chocolate will remain, but that’s ok.  Pour into a glass. Enjoy!

15 Comments

  1. Janet Vinyard

    Sounds interesting! I’ve never put dates in a smoothie before but I’ll have to try this. Thanks for sharing! Blessings, Janet

    • Jenny

      Thanks, Janet, and thank you for stopping by!

  2. AngieAngie

    Did you go self-hosted, Jenny? Were you always self-hosted? I can’t remember actually. Just that i’m trying to merge my blogs. A little more complicated when your blog names are completely different.

    • Jenny

      Hi Angie, yes I went to self-hosted a few months ago. It was pretty confusing at first. My older brother (who is more tech-savvy than I am) helped me a lot, and I found a really helpful person at Jetpack support who helped me too. I changed my blog’s name a bit when I moved, so it was kind of confusing at first trying to migrate followers and stats and wordpress IDs, etc. I can imagine merging two blogs would be challenging! I don’t know if I would be of any help, but feel free to email me–I could at least relate to some of the issues you are facing. 🙂 Happy Fiesta Friday and hope you stay warm and safe–it sounds like your area may be getting lots of snow!

  3. Julie is Hostess At Heart

    I’ve never thought to use dates in smoothies, but I love their flavor and am sure this smoothie was delicious!

    • Jenny

      Thanks Julie, it really was delicious. My husband and daughter love it too (not so much my son, but 3 out of 4 is good!)

  4. Jhuls

    I love all the ingredients you have here and I love it more because it’s healthy. 🙂

    • Jenny

      Thank you Jhuls, it is one of my favorite smoothies yet! 🙂

  5. Amanda | What's Cooking

    This smoothie looks so good. I love the use of dates as a sweetener. Oh I want this right now!

    • Jenny

      Thanks Amanda! Hope you are managing with all the snow there!

  6. simplyvegetarian777

    Loved tey simple flavors of your smoothie, Jenny!
    I hope your

    • simplyvegetarian777

      Sorry it got posted soon :)..,
      I hope your husband’s knee surgery goes fine and I will keep you in my prayer.
      Smoothie is something that I need to get into the habit too…but winters hold me back… Dates are powerhouse of energy and bananas are so good for bone structure.
      I am not sure if you follow my blog but it’s all about plant based diet-vegetarian ;)…
      I am going to follow you now for more inspiration on better eating!
      Thanks for sharing it with FF!! ❤️

      • Jenny

        Thank you Sonal! My husband’s surgery went well, and now he is recovering, in need of lots of good food. 🙂 I am going to follow your blog now–I look forward to checking out your recipes!

  7. Mary Frances

    I love the addition of the dates, I bet it adds such a distinct sweetness!

    • Jenny

      Thank you very much! Yes, the dates give it a delicious flavor.

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