Date me, please!

This was my breakfast as I was driving into work today! No, I did not have two of them (although, don't put it past me! lol)! I just like the look of two yummy smoothies in one photo! Just my standard, go-to mix (frozen strawberries, frozen pineapple, vanilla almond milk, flax meal) but this time I switched it up and used pitted dates! VERY PLEASED!!!!! I found that I was getting a little too liberal with the sweeteners; agave, maple syrup, brown rice syrup. All of which I always keep on hand but it's too much for every day use. Not to mention the cup of coffee and/or tea I usually have, too! Ugh! I just can't have it all...waaaaahhh!!!!

So, dates to the rescue! They're naturally very sweet and full of fiber and not processed, of course. I just soaked a handful of pitted dates (about half a cup or so) in filtered water for a couple of hours or the night before. I noticed that after just a couple of hours in the water, they were getting soggy rather quickly, so overnight is not always needed. Then I drained them and put them in a container in the fridge until morning. The soaking helps to soften the dates and makes it easier on your blender. Nice n chewy on their own, yes, but just not too blender-blade friendly, either. They worked beautifully. They add a nice "meatiness" to the smoothie, nice n thick, not too runny....just right. And puurrfectly sweetened. A container of pitted dates at Sprouts costs about $3.44 compared to, say, Grade B Maple Syrup at $6.99, and that's for their smallest jar!!!!

UPDATE** I now keep dates in my fridge, in water, ready for my use. They last beautifully and stay super sweet and begin to create their own syrup in the water over time so don't throw that water out! :)