Date Shake Recipe
This easy and healthy, 3-ingredient date shake is a refreshingly delicious cool treat on a hot summer day.
My love affair with dates began when I was in elementary school, in Sri Lanka. Back then, my mom would fix dates (wait, you know I am talking about the edible kind – right?) stuffed with her homemade strawberry frosting for parties and get togethers. They were so pretty to look at. You had these brown, plumpish, pit-less, dates that were cut down the middle and then filled with beautiful, intricate swirls of pink frosting.
But, they weren’t just pretty. They were T.R.O.U.B.L.E. in our hands! My cousins and I would sneak by the table they were on, and fit as many as we could into our mouths before anyone would notice. The sugar high that ensued would have us getting into all kinds of havoc until it wore down. And that sugar high didn’t wear down as quickly as the sugar high after eating chocolate cake would do!
So, armed with that knowledge, I began my date-shake experimenting. My first few date shakes were way, way too watery as my ratio of liquid milk to frozen milk wasn’t right. But, my daughter and I enjoyed putting away my watery milk shakes all the same.
After several failed attempts, I ended up with the date shake you see here.
It was just the right consistency.
It was just the right amount of sweetness.
It was spiked with just the right hint of cardamom.
These date shakes are refined sugar free. While dates are so sweet, with a GI range of 46-55, they fall in the middle of the glycemic index in case you are watching your sugar intake.
How Easy Is It To Make These Healthy Date Shakes!
These date shakes call for the freezing of milk, which is the only time consuming step. I placed milk in ice cube trays and it took a good 2-3 hours for the milk to freeze. After the milk had frozen, it was just a matter of adding the frozen cubes of milk as well as liquid milk, the dates, and cardamom to a blender. A few pulses on high (might take longer if you are not using a high powered blender), and this shake was ready to be enjoyed! And, the timing was perfect because on the day I finally perfected these shakes, we had come back from hiking Tallulah Gorge ~ but more on that another day!
If you are out working in your yard this weekend or running a 6k or just catching some rays and need a healthy drink to cool down with, I hope you give this date shake a try!
Ingredients
- 2 cups milk I used 2% lactose free
- 10 milk ice cubes milk placed in ice cubes and frozen
- 10 medjool dates
- 1/4 tsp cardamom
Instructions
- The most time consuming part of this recipe is freezing the milk. Pour 2% lactose free milk (or milk of your choice) into an ice cube tray and let it freeze for about 2 hours.
- Then, add milk ice cubes, liquid milk, medjool dates and cardamom to a blender. Blend/pulse till dates are broken up into flecks.
- Pour into glasses and serve chilled. Can garnish with whipped cream if desired or enjoy as is.
Nutrition
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Looks very creamy and tasty! I love delicious recipes with just a few of ingredients. Thanks for sharing, Shashi.
My wife snacks on dates all of the time, I must show her this, she’d love it!
I never thought of making shake out of dates, but it sure looks delicious and refreshing – perfect as a pre-workout snack!
I would never have thought of making a shake with dates but it sounds great! Love that this only needs three ingredients!
My grandma use to make us a shake with dates, boy did this bring back memories I must try this recipe. Thanks for jarring that memory
First of all, that photo of Tallulah Gorge looks amazing, Shashi! You gals really do have fun down there. 🙂 Second, the dates stuffed with strawberry frosting sound delicious. I’m laughing at the thought of all the kids (1) running around on sugar highs and (2) subsequently crashing from those sugar highs. Poor parents! So I don’t eat dates all that often, but I do enjoy them. I’ve used them in muffins and breads, but never in a shake…and I think I need to try it. I do love cardamom after all! Thanks for the recipe, my friend!
What a lovely smoothie recipe Shashi. Very tasty looking! And thanks for doing all that experimenting to get the ratio of liquid milk to frozen milk right. This is definitely one I’d love to try in my blender.
I love dates. I’ve never had a date shake, but it sounds terrific!
What a lovely smoothie recipe Shashi. Very tasty looking! And thanks for doing all that experimenting to get the ratio of liquid milk to frozen milk right. This is definitely one I’d love to try in my blender.
My grandma use to make us a shake with dates, boy did this bring back memories I must try this recipe. Thanks for jarring that memory
My wife snacks on dates all of the time, I must show her this, she’d love it!
I never thought of making shake out of dates, but it sure looks delicious and refreshing – perfect as a pre-workout snack!
I would never have thought of making a shake with dates but it sounds great! Love that this only needs three ingredients!
This is a great recipe. My first time for a date shake was in Palm Springs, California and I was hooked.
I used unsweetened almond milk and did not wait to freeze the milk in ice cubes. So it took me few minutes to make. Love, love. Cardamom was a wonderful addition.
Thank you!