Welcome to Cooking Without Recipes, in which we teach you how to make a dish we love, but don’t worry too much about the nitty-gritty details of the recipe, so you can create your own spin.
If I offered you the choice between a smoothie and a magical-new-frothy-blender-breakfast-beverage I just invented called Monkey On A Date, which would you choose? Well, if you were my six-year-old, who just happens to be a voracious albeit "selective" eater (I hate the word "picky"), you’d want to know about this Monkey thing. Well! It turns out, it’s a smoothie! A real power smoothie.
Into a blender jar go the following: Two or three ripe bananas. Half a cup of rolled oats (yup, uncooked). Two cups of buttermilk (and/or coconut water, rice milk, or nut milk—mix freely, it’s all good!). Two or three Medjool dates (remove the pits; I’m telling you that because I have forgotten to do so and it makes a horrible noise). But wait, there’s more! A biiiiiig scoop of nut butter (again, your choice—I’ve used peanut, almond, and sunflower seed butter to great success). A pinch of salt. A big handful of ice. You can even add a spoonful of coconut oil, which would be delicious and is a nice caloric boost for kids with smaller appetites.
Blend-o whammo. Potassium? Check. Fiber? Check. Protein? Check. Kid friendly? Check! Caffeine optional?? CHECK CHECK (in that case, add about a half-cup of cold brew and save the $11 you—I mean, I—would have spent at Juice Press). If you don’t have dates, sweeten with some maple syrup, agave, or honey, if you like. Into protein powder? Add it!
The last time I offered this to my little dude, he said, “Why do we call it Monkey On A Date again?” To which I said, “Uh, because monkeys like bananas and I put dates in it.” He had seconds. I’m guessing it’s all in the name.
