Date Smoothie

I would much rather be sipping a cup of homemade hot chocolate, you know, the kind you get in Paris, thick, rich and warm. The idea of a smoothie in the middle of January in the tundra of Minnesota just doesn't quite appeal to me. However, this Date Smoothie is to die for and since I am trying to make some changes in our diet around here it seemed a better choice for my fireside lunch.

I am sick and tired of this particular winter. Minimal sunshine and maximum snow and no trips to Florida for me in the near future. I am fine not going to Florida, happy to sit home by the fire and plan our next trip to Budapest which will include stops in London and Poland this June. A day at home, planning another trip, trying to find a place to order my packaged bees for the spring, doing laundry, roasting a chicken and looking at pictures of the two little kittens that will join us in about a week, it couldn't get much better.

But it did get better, when I made this Vanilla Date Smoothie! I found the recipe in the Bon Appetit Food Lovers Cleanse. I love medjool dates, especially stuffed with a chunk of good cheese, wrapped in bacon and roasted. I thought about doing the Food Lovers Cleanse, after all I love being in the kitchen, but quite frankly it completely overwhelmed me. Instead I picked out a few recipes to try and this was the first. I made it, exactly as written. I should have cut it in half since it serves two. But hey, don't you always want more smoothie? I should have cut it in half! It was way too rich to drink two servings and without a good way to save it, well I did drink it all and now I feel a little sickish. Seriously, it was good, really good but too rich and too sweet, even if I kept to a single portion. Next round I will back off on the amount of dates, and I will cut it half, but I will be making it again and again!

Vanilla Date Smoothie

1 cup nonfat plain yogurt

1 cup nonfat milk

1 cup (packed) pitted Medjool dates, about 9 ounces

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups ice cubes

Puree everything in a blender until thick and smooth. Divide between 2 glasses and serve.