The Date

I love dates so so much. Not the awkward date where you end up drinking too much and disclosing too much about your weird life. But the lovely little fruit, of course. I remember going on road trips to Palm Springs or Arizona when I was little and passing by the famous Hadley's Fruit Orchards. I don't think we ever stopped to get a date shake, but my parents would always talk about how delicious they were. I can't believe we never stopped! Mom, please correct me if I'm wrong. Anyways, just the thought of a date shake always sounds good to me. I was at the market the other day, and they had a date smoothie with bananas, dates, almond butter, and coconut milk - it was okay. First of all, I saw the young man making my smoothie use almond milk instead of coconut milk. Then, once I tried it, the banana flavor was so strong that I couldn't taste the dates. Also, bananas and almonds are "too hot" for Pitta types, so I already knew there that I maybe shouldn't have spent $8 on a smoothie. But, it did encourage me to buy a coconut-milkish-type "drink"(which is actually really good) and some dates.
This morning, I made my own date shake. I really had no idea how to go about it, but the end product was good, not great, but good. I put I handful of blackberries, about four dates, lots of coconut drink, and some almond butter. Next time, I'll try it with one or two less dates and less almond butter (since it technically aggravates Pitta). Also, I think with more berries and coconut, it would be very refreshing in the warmer months. Give it a try and let me know what you think or how to tweak it.
Oh, and a high-speed blender is definitely needed to break down the sticky dates.