A delicious lightly spiced breakfast smoothie using figs, dates and almond milk. Creamy, satisfying and vegan.
For most of my adult life I was under the impression that I did not like cereal, until I discovered that my dislike was cereal with cow milk. As a child I drank gallons of milk, and did not start drinking coffee until my late teens and then tea at university. Once at university living in college with no fridge near my room, and an entirely fictitious rumour (no internet in those days to check it) about the health risks of powdered whitener I rapidly switched to drinking both tea and coffee black, which I do to this day.
For cereal, porridge and baking I far prefer to use plant-based milks. I love consuming cream and cheese (cow, goat and sheep) but the thought of the taste and smell of moo milk leaves me slightly queasy.  Some years ago I bought a soy milk machine which makes over a litre of milk (soy, oat or nut) in about 20 minutes for pennies, and means I am not lugging cartons back from the supermarket.
Of course not everyone has a soy milk machine to make their plant-based milk in; there are some excellent products out there for those who wish to avoid moo milk or soy, such as creamy delicious almond milk.
I have been working with Vitamix who provided me with one of their very powerful blenders which makes smoothie making a breeze as it will pulverize almost everything you throw at it to silky smoothness in a few seconds. If you do not have a fantastic blender my tip is to soak the least soft ingredients in liquid overnight which should make the whizzing far easier.
First thoughts were figs and maple syrup, then after a few experiments I added in spices, dates, oats and a squeeze of orange juice for brightness. I use frozen bananas in smoothies as once blitzed they have a lovely creamy texture, if you cut them up small before freezing most blenders should be able to cope with them. If not just make sure the other ingredients are well chilled.
Recipe: Spiced Fig, Date, Oat & Almond Milk Smoothie
Ingredients
- 3 Fresh figs
- ½ cup dried dates (destoned)
- ½ cup oats
- 1 frozen banana (chopped)
- 1 small orange (peeled)
- 1 – 1½ cups Almond or other nut milk (I used Almond Breeze)
- 1 dsp maple syrup (or honey)
- Pinch ground Allspice
Instructions
- Simply place all the ingredients into your blender and whizz adding more almond milk if needed.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
Elizabeth
You know, I don’t think I’ve ever tried a fresh fig? I’ve had them in fig newtons, but never fresh. I will have to remedy this! This sounds like a delicious recipe.
Helen
I adore then, but there is a very small window when they are just perfect. I sometimes get trays for £3 in the market and then jam them.
Krithi
Hooray.. breakfast in a glass… love ’em..
Jacqueline
I’ve made a similar milk smoothie, although with cows milk and it was really good. A bit of luxury in a glass.
Ella
The ingredients and combination sound delicious!
Nic
I must invest in a vitamix one day, only heard good things about them. This looks great!
IrishCathy
I have just made this and it was absolutely delicious!! I’m a foodie and rarely call something delicious!
I used hazelnut milk as the store was out of almond milk, used honey and put a generous amount of mixed spice in.
Fantastic breakfast on the go or a truly filling smoothie to give you fuel all day long!
Helen
Yay! So glad you enjoyed this Cathy! Thanks for letting me know.
Shuhan
this is great! I’m not so great with dairy first thing in the morning (asian thing yikes) but this wonderful oat almond milk sounds like a delicious nutritious start, and naturally sweeteened with fruits too! Very impressed you make your own milks. In singapore, it’s much more common because we love our soy milks, so soybean makers are quite common in households, but I’ve never seen people here use it..!
Helen
I am not great with dairy at all, but I do love my cheese. Non diary milk seems a no brainer for me?
Kelly @ Texas Type A Mom
That looks so delicious! I’ve never had a drink with figs or dates before.
Helen
Hi Kelly,
Thanks for visiting and commenting. I adore my morning smoothies.
Angelica Merritt
Oh wow! I love this recipe. I’ve been on a smoothie kick lately and can’t wait to feature one on my site when it actually gets a little warmer in Chicago!!! Fig & nutmeg is now added onto the list to try. Delicious. Thanks :)
lyss
love it!
Jane English
Not keen on figs, but I might try it on hubby he loves them.