Each year, my now friend Sasha Swerdloff of Tending the Table genius organizes a trip for women in the food world (bloggers, cookbook authors, chefs, nutritionists, photographers etc.) to get together, hang out, share delicious food, and get to know each other beyond a screen (…see? Genius!) This year I actually got to attend – ok truth: I shamelessly invited myself because I wanted to meet this talented troupe of ladies IRL. The group decided to gather in Palm Springs, much to my delight as I needed to escape two kinds of hell: overdue home renovations and Ontario in February.

The days were magically sunny, delicious, and life-affirming. We cooked a lot, then let our food get cold taking too many photos of it. We swam, we hiked, we yoga-ed, we laughed, and conspired together. Besides all of the heart-warming togetherness, one of the highlights for me, was visiting a date farm just outside the city limits, to understand where our favourite whole food sweetener comes from (and to gorge ourselves, naturally). I had never seen dates on a tree before, and was moved to learn from the passionate farmer himself just how these sweet miracles grow.

Dates grow on palm trees, and they fastidiously follow the calendar – you can practically set your watch to a date palm’s seasonal cycle. The first day of spring the tree is in full bloom and the hard work begins, as the farmer pollinates each one by hand. The ratio of male to female trees is about 1 to 30, since the male trees are only necessary to produce the pollen, and the female trees are the ones that produce the fruit. Between the first day of spring and the first day of summer, the tree sets up its entire crop for the year. All the work (trimming, feeding, etc.) must take place during this season, since it’s during this period is when the fruit ripens, turning from green, to yellow, to brown. The dates are ready to eat from the first day of autumn, and then the harvest begins. During this season, the fruit is either left on the tree and protected with cloth bags to prevent rain, birds and insects from spoiling the fruit, or picked when ripe. The farmer told us that the best place for the dates is to remain on the tree for freshness, but if the load is too heavy, it will not bloom as well the following year, thus effecting the trees’ output.

After decades of date farming, he was as wide-eyed and passionate about his fruit as an eager young man, which really made us all swoon. It is truly one of my favourite things in this world, to see how and where food is grown, and to meet and connect with the people who lovingly produce it. We all left with full bellies and hearts, and of course, our bags bulging with dates.   

Along the dusty, desert road home we saw so many signs for date shakes, since this is the land where this indulgent treat was invented back in the 1930s. None of us caved and bought one, but my mouth was definitely watering, and I was excited to get back and make one for myself. The original recipe is simple, and calls for dates, vanilla ice cream, milk, and sometimes a dash of cinnamon and nutmeg. I knew this was the perfect makeover opportunity, and high-vibed my date shake with coconut milk instead of dairy, hemp seeds, and adaptogens.

So why the adaptogens? Well, I felt like the already-pretty-healthy date shake could use a boost, and what better way to make something more supportive than with a dose of stress-reducing, adrenal-loving, hormone-balancing, potions to get you back into balance? Yahs! I had these four choices on hand, but there are a lot of options once you start to dig around the health food store a little. Here is a little about each one and why I chose them.

Ashwaganda: helps the body adapt to stress and bring us back into balance. It encourages deeper sleep, supports the immune system, and energy levels.
He Shou Wu: builds the blood, harmonizes adrenal gland function, nourishes hair, skin and nervous system, increases antioxidant activity.
Maca: increases stamina, elevates mood, helps to balance hormones in both men and women, supports fertility and healthy libido.
Licorice: balances hormones, helps the body adapt to stress, supports the immune response, and aids learning and memory.

*Some adaptogens during pregnancy, breastfeeding, and while on medication are not recommended, so check with your natural health care provider before trying any of them.

The farm we visited grew seven types of dates, and we loved trying them all. The unanimous favourite was the grower’s very own variety that he created himself, called Black Gold. He also mentioned that this was the best type of date for a date shake, but considering the fact that you maaaaay not get a chance to visit Palm Springs anytime soon, I’ll go ahead and recommend using Medjool dates for the shakes, since they are widely available, and their thin skin blends very easily into a smooth consistency. If you cannot find Medjool, try Deglet Noor instead, or soak your dates in warm water for half an hour before blending.

Dates are a great source of energy, and provide a generous amount of filling dietary fibre with very little fat. Dates are mineral rich, delivering potassium, manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as an assortment of B-vitamins. Seek out dates that are plump and juicy-looking (if you’re buying from a market, ask to try them first), that their skin is intact, and that they are neither glossy or dusty. I store my dates in an airtight glass jar in the fridge to extend their shelf life, and protect their flavour and nutrients. Kept this way, dates will last up to six months. Outside of the fridge at room temperature, dates will last about a month and a half, or you can freeze them for up to a year.

The banana in this blend up is totally optional, and I actually really liked the version without, even though it was less thick and “milkshakey”. If you want to add more dates for sweetness and flavour, live it up. I found that this amount, about 3 Medjool dates, was just perfect for me, even without the banana. The spices are also optional, but help to disguise any strong flavours from the adaptogens, which admittedly can sometimes taste like the inside of a barn, or everyone’s favourite: feet? Mmmmm. Right. Let’s cover that up.

All in all, this is a delicious and filling way to start your morning, or the perfect afternoon pick-me-up. It’s creamy, smooth, sweet and totally balanced. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!   

Read more at: https://www.mynewroots.org/site/2018/05/adaptogenic-date-shake/

Sean Jacobs

Evil social media fanatic. Extreme alcohol aficionado. Analyst. Bacon guru.

We usually don’t do a big thing of Valentine’s Day so I’m not sure what happened here. Maybe it was because we recently got married or because Elsa has been drawing and folding Valentine gifts (for us!) for the past week. Perhaps it was because Noah slowly has been starting his kindergarten training so we are finally getting a few moments together again without any kids around. Or was it perhaps simply because we have always secretly been dreaming of creating a big American-style ice cream shake topped with whipped cream, meringues, chocolate and the full shebang. Yup, that was probably it.

Luise mentioned the idea of a shake this morning and a few hours later we found ourselves in our living room window, looking at these two shakes overloaded with toppings and surrounded by a million small pieces of nuts, crushed meringues and chocolate spread. As naughty as they look, these shakes are made with real ingredients. They even has beetroot in them. And they are entirely vegan.

The base is a deliciously thick nice cream made with frozen bananas, frozen raspberries, dates, nut milk ice cubes and beetroot. Because we wanted it thick, you need a strong blender or food processor to get it smooth. But you can also just replace some of the frozen ingredients with thawed to make it more like a smoothie and easier to blend. We top it with vegan meringues (which we happened to have at home), whipped coconut cream, melted dark vegan chocolate, chopped hazelnuts, raspberries and a dusting of cacao powder.

So you know what you need to do tomorrow. Whip these babies up for your partner, parent, friend, pet or someone else you love. We shared these with our kids. Their eyeballs almost popped when they saw them and as soon as the first layer of topping was gone, we filled up with more. As shall you.

Big love!
David, Luise and the gang

Love Shake
Serves 2

It’s easy to make vegan meringues using aquafaba but if you are not vegan, you can of course just buy or make regular meringues. Or skip them.

Raspberry & Beetroot Nice Cream
50 g /1/2 cup grated raw beetroot
225 g / 2 cups frozen raspberries
4 soft dates
2 frozen bananas
1/2 tsp freshly ground cardamom
5 coconut milk ice cubes  (or other nut milk)

Topping
100 g / 3 1/2 oz dark chocolate
3 tbsp hazelnuts
250 ml / 1 cup whipped coconut cream (instructions here) or regular whipped cream
a handful fresh (or frozen and thawed) raspberries
1 tsp cacao powder
4-5 vegan meringues or regular

Melt chocolate over a water bath and chop the hazelnuts finely. Dip the rim of two glasses in the chocolate and then in the nuts. Place the glass in the freezer so the chocolate will set while preparing the smoothie.

Add all nice cream ingredients to a high-speed blender or food processor. Mix and mash using the tamper until everything is smooth, thick and creamy. Add an extra splash nut milk to the blender if needed to loosen up. Drizzle melted dark chocolate inside the glasses and spoon in the smoothie/nice cream. Top generously with whipped coconut cream, raspberries, chopped nuts and more melted chocolate. Sprinkle with cacao powder and crush a few meringues on top.

Dive in!

If you are in the mood for more vegan chocolate treats, check out this aquafaba chocolate mousse that we just posted on our youtube channel.

Read more at: http://www.greenkitchenstories.com/vegan-love-shake/

Sean Jacobs

Evil social media fanatic. Extreme alcohol aficionado. Analyst. Bacon guru.