Drink: Date Shake with Toasted Nuts (Majoon)

Recipe by Louisa Shafia I first tasted a majoon at the Café Glacé in the Westwood neighborhood of Los Angeles, where these decadent concoctions are whipped up with vanilla ice cream for Westwood's large Persian community. I make majoon with yogurt instea

This recipe includes superfoods such as:

Cinnamon

Health benefits of Date Shake with Toasted Nuts (Majoon)

Cinnamon is one of the best ingredients that someone with insulin sensitivity can eat. Half a teaspoon of cinnamon per day has been shown to be very effective at normalizing blood sugar levels. Cinnamon contains hydroxychalcone, which is thought to enhance the effects of insulin. It has also been suggested that Cinnamon prevents post-meal blood sugar spikes by slowing the gastric emptying rate - meaning that food digests slowly. (Reference: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11506060).

Ingredients

1 banana, peeled and frozen
8 Medjool dates, pitted
1/2 cup plain yogurt (not thick)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of ground cinnamon
Pinch of sea salt
2 cups ice cubes
3/4 cup to 1 cup water

Instructions

Cut the banana into 1-inch-thick slices and place them in a blender. Add the dates, yogurt, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, ice cubes, and 3/4 cup water and blend until smooth. Add an additional 1/4 cup water if the shake is too thick. Pour into glasses, top with rows of coconut flakes, almonds, walnuts, pistachios, and sesame seeds, and serve.