In case you've been living under a rock and didn't know I spent an extended time in Bali, well, let me tell you.
Bali was great. It was magical. I eat pray LOVED every minute of it.
One thing that was especially eye opening to me was the fact that Health Food Can Be Delicious. For instance, one day I am at a cafe called Bali Buda (yes, that's how it's spelled). They have something on the menu called a "Dosha Balancing Drink". I had no idea what a dosha was, but I know that the items that were in it according to the menu, which included banana, dates, and almonds, all sounded quite to my liking.
I took one sip and said to my companion, "I have no idea what a doshi is but mine feel so balanced right now!". You see, I'd already forgotten what this beverage was balancing. But what I still don't forget is the taste. It was perfect. Very mellow and subtle, but so calming. Even though it was a chilled drink, it tasted like a comfort food, with the sweetness of the banana and dates working in sweet harmony with the almonds. You could not be in a bad mood while drinking this thing.
I blinked out of my reverie as my companion spoke up.
"Dosha," she gently chided, and I received the reader's digest version of the dosha story. Basically, doshas (is it doshi, plural?), according to Ayurvedic medicine, are "each of three energies believed to circulate in the body and covern physiological activity."
Anyway, if you want to know more about the doshas in your particular life, there's a quiz on the Deepak Chopra site. I can't believe I just linked to Deepak Chopra on CakeSpy.
Anyhow, once you forgive me for linking to the Chops, do give this recipe a try. Even though it's health food, it's awfully good food. The sweetness of the bananas and dates work beautifully with the richness of the almonds; even though it has no dairy, it's amazingly creamy. I'm never going to tell you it could stand in for dessert, but it's very acceptable as a snack or breakfast.
Dosha Balancing Drink (AKA banana date almond smoothie)
Inspired by Bali Budha; adapted from Deliciously Ella
Makes 2 delicate servings, or one very large one
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 2 large ripe bananas
- 1 1/2 cups very cold almond milk
- 8 medjool dates, pits removed
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon
Procedure
- If your blender is not incredibly strong, go ahead and coarsely chop the almonds to start. I don't really care if they have skins on or not.
- Undress the bananas and remove the pits from your dates.
- Now, combine all of the ingredients in your blender. Blend for, I don't know, 1 minute or so, until it has reached your desired consistency. I like mine a little chunky, so I can use a spoon toward the end to snack on the lumps of almond and date bits.
Enjoy in good health and highly balanced doshas.