Walnut-Banana-Date Smoothie

This is my spin on Aida Mollenkamp's Walnut Date Smoothie. It's mostly the same recipe, but with single-serving proportions.

Smoothies are tricky. Often, recipes that look like the perfect size for a meal are actually 2 servings. And have you ever looked at the calorie count on the Jamba Juice menu? That's nightmare stuff.

I did some math and created a recipe for a single serving. This smoothie comes in at about 400 calories. Sounds like a lot, but this smoothie will keep you full until lunch, no snacking necessary. It's delicious and slightly sweet, but not so sweet that you gulp it down in thirty seconds.

Walnut-Date Smoothie

- 3/4 cup walnut milk (recipe below)
- 1/2 cup plain, lowfat yogurt
- 1/2 cup dates, pitted and roughly chopped
- pinch of cinnamon
- a few grates of whole nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 3-5 ice cubes, depending on how thick you want it

Blend walnut milk, yogurt, dates, banana, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt together (I use an immersion blender and it works fine). Then add ice cubes and blend again. Ice cubes do not need to be fully incorporated, just broken up.

Recommended: Set a glass in the freezer, preferably overnight so it's ice cold for your smoothie.

Makes 1 large smoothie. About 400 calories.


Walnut Milk

- 1 cup walnuts.
- 5 cups water
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract, or 1 vanilla bean
- 1 T honey or agave nectar
- pinch of salt

Place walnuts in a bowl. Cover them with water, about 2 cups. Cover the bowl and let soak overnight at room temperature. Drain and rinse the soaked walnuts. Add 3 cups of water, vanilla, honey or agave, and salt. Blend until all the walnuts are incorporated. Run through a fine sieve if you want the milk to be less gritty.