savory sunday // okay maybe sweet sunday // date smoothies

So let's talk about dates, shall we? No... not like the romantic kind! (Although I do love to dish about those as well!) Rather the kind that grow on palm trees in California.I had never tried a date until about 3 years ago because a) I've never really seen them in the market b) they look kinda like dead cockroaches? c) no one had ever told me how good they were.YOU GUYS! Dates are like God's creation of a fruit that tastes like a brownie. Yes, you read that right.So when I first heard about a date smoothie this winter, I was intrigued... but freezing because this is Minnesota, and I put it on my list of things to try this spring. And I tried it about 2 weeks ago and have had one for breakfast every single day since then. SO DAMN TASTY.I know this might seem exotic or whatever, but please, please trust me and try this just once. It is so delicious and filling and perfect for summer breakfast.OK. Let's get started. First, here's what you need:• Five dates. I find them in the grocery store near the prunes and raisins. Keep looking. There's usually only one brand and it's at the bottom and kind of buried. The nice thing is that dates are dried, so they last a really long time. And they are so sweet that you don't need a ton.• One frozen banana. LISTEN UP. I once tossed a banana in the freezer and then went to make a smoothie (years ago) and was like, "Oh! Hahaha! How do you peel this??" Yeah, you can't. Just go buy a bunch of ripe bananas and peel them, slice them up and put them in ziplock baggies in the freezer. Then when you need "one frozen banana" you have exactly that measured in the baggie in the freezer. Also! This ingredient is key as frozen bananas make smoothies super creamy. Trust me.• A spoonful of almond butter or peanut butter. To keep this recipe paleo, I use almond. But regular peanut butter is fine.• One cup coconut unsweetened coconut milk. I buy these by the quart at Trader Joe's. I suppose you could use regular milk if coconut milk is too hippie-dippy for you. What am I saying? You're making a date shake, you probably already have coconut milk.• A large handful of ice cubes.Ok, you ready? The first step is to put the milk and the dates in the blender and blend them all up. Dates are super tough little things and if you put everything in the blender at once, it will work but the dates will be chunkier and chewier. Mixing just the milk and the dates first gets things smoother. See the photo above.Step two: Add in the rest and blend.Step three: Slurp down your delicious new breakfast treat that will keep you full until lunch!Ok. Let's talk calories. This might shock you because dates, while in fact being a fruit, are not exactly low-calorie. Which is why you only need 5 in a shake. For a large shake like the one above, it's 375 calories. But! It will keep you full all morning, I promise.And if you're feeling super decadent, try adding a table spoon of cocoa powder to make a CHOCOLATE DATE SHAKE. Which is totally divine as well.Now! Onto your internet share of the day. If you are bummed about a sweet breakfast and would like something savory instead, how about this roasted pepper poached egg recipe? I, myself, cannot stomach poached eggs (or runny eggs), but for those of you who can, this looks AMAZING.