 Thank you Zahra. Salamu alaikum. Welcome to Morning Baraka and in this segment we're going to be discussing health and nutrition with my guest Sana. Salamu alaikum. Alaykum Salam. Thank you for joining us today. Thank you for having me. So after the last recipe I'm really excited as to what you've got for us today. Yes, so today we're going to be making a date and almond milk smoothie. Okay, interesting. I don't think I've had that combination before. No, I mean it's a bit different because we're going to be replacing the normal cow's milk with some almond milk. Okay. But it is very tasty and is very quick and easy to prepare. Why would you choose almond milk? So I would choose almond milk if for example you have any intolerances. There's some children or even adults that have dairy allergies and so they would replace with either almond milk or coconut milk. I kind of alternate. I'll mix. Sometimes I would use coconut milk. Sometimes I'll use almond milk. Both it's very tasty and with this one the almond milk just goes really well. Okay, so talk us through what you're going to do now. So what I'm going to do first is we're going to put all the ingredients in here. I'm going to take a cup of dates. Dates is amazing. At the end of the day we know that our prophet peace be upon him and his family used to open his fast with dates and it's also a really good substitute if you have a sweet tooth but you want something healthy. It's got so many nutrients in there and to be honest it's a great ingredient to use generally. To use this in a smoothie I think it's really healthy. Almond's on its own from what I know is also very rich in calcium and it has especially the milk. It's good for your bones and it actually can really help with your easing of the smoothie because it's not the normal really thick cow's milk that we would normally have as well. Exactly and it's also good for your digestive system as well. Absolutely. So if you feel a bit bloated it can help with that too. And also there are different types of dates that you can use. The ones that I usually use is the succary dates. They're very sweet. They're really gooey and you would leave them in the fridge but I find that they do kind of help with this smoothie and also you can use the ones that they use for the date cookies. They're really really sticky and they're really small so you can get those from any kind of local store. There are so many different types of dates. It's very difficult to know so it's all trial and error as to what your taste buds prefer. But these ones, what did you call that again? The succary dates. And usually you would find them in the fridge because they need to be refrigerated. And I know that with smoothies most people will do that as a quick meal and you can prepare the night before and you can use it the following day. Exactly. So for example if you know you're going to be going to work really early or college or school or university you can make it the night before, keep it in the fridge and then in the morning just grab it and it can be like a food breakfast. Exactly. So it will fill you up and it will give you an energy and a boost until lunchtime really. We don't realise how much options we can have to make our lives healthy but it's still just taking a little bit of thought as to the ingredients we use as well as using it like a smoothie because I would like to have something healthy in the morning to start the day. And it is also narrated that Imam Sadaq al-Islam said that we should have our full meals in order to build our bodies for sustenance and to have us perform throughout the day. So we shouldn't really skip meals and we know that even our studies have shown that skipping meals, when we think that we're going to be lethargic we don't have the drive to actually do any work. These sort of ingredients and these sort of recipes can really help boost us throughout the day and to start this way is extremely important. Exactly. And I guess when you get into that regular kind of routine and habit it becomes normal and it isn't difficult at all. If you've got a blender you can just kind of add whatever you want and just mix it up. But I think this blend is really, really, really different and I would love to see how you continue with this. Yeah, so you've just pitted the dates. Yes, I've just put a couple of dates. You can put less, more. I think this is enough for the amount we're going to do. So is that for one person? Do you think that amount of dates? It would make a big kind of cup. We'll see if the cup we're going to put it in now. I mean, it depends. If you drink a lot it might be, it will be enough. If you don't drink that much. It would last just longer. Exactly, it might be a bit too much. So now what we're going to do is we're going to put a cup of, it's unsweetened, roasted almond milk, which is good because the dates are already sweet. I was just going to say you don't want to make it too overly sweet. And it's good that we don't even need any sugars or any other stuff in there. Exactly, yeah. Now, if you're not used to almond milk, so spitting it a bit, it might be a different taste for you, but it is something that you would just get used to. Can you describe the different tastes between normal milk and almond milk? With almond milk you can taste the almonds. You can actually taste it. So it gives it that nutty taste, which is really nice. And also we're going to be adding peanut butter in there as well. Oh wow, peanut butter. It's very, very high calorie content. So just be careful how much you would use if you are watching your diet there. The thing is people don't understand is that when they want to be healthy, it's not about not using ingredients but it's the amount. Exactly. Because I know a lot of people are like, I eat healthy. But I'm like, how much are you eating of that? Because you know, they'll have like a whole bowl of nuts and that's their lunch, but actually you only need a handful. Because it's really, really important to understand the foods that you're eating, how much calories. Because a lot of these things are healthy. It has got high content of calories, for example. Or some fat. Just to fill you up to give you that boost and that energy. But we need to know the amount that's needed per person. Exactly. And you know, something like this, it has got high calories. So you need to be careful as to how much you're going to use in that. It does. And again, it's full of protein as well. So children or adults who don't get that protein from other sources of food, it's a good way to kind of top them up so they're making sure they're getting the right balance of what they need. So I'm going to put two tablespoons of this in there. Again, it's something you can reduce if you would like. Or put a little bit more. It's up to you depending on how you feel. I don't normally have peanut butter, but I think when you're mixing some of these ingredients together, you can have the benefits without realizing that you're going to have it individually and if you don't have that particular taste for it, you wouldn't really be able to tell it in something like this, which I think is a really smart, clever way, especially even for children and teenagers who are studying, who are wanting to boost their immune system as well as give them the energy levels and help them. And like I mentioned before, our brain, our body, our organs, it all needs to have that maintenance in order to improve. Just like a car, you've got to service it constantly. You've got to serve you well. So we need to be more aware of our food so that we can actually live much more healthier lives. And our well-being is so important. Again, I work with people's minds, but I take a lot of interest in our foods because I think it's a combination to have that healthy mind and body. Exactly. So this is amazing that you've come up with this. So let's see what we're going to blend it now or is there anything else to believe? No, we're going to add one banana. Okay, I always want to eat banana, but I'm like, I just don't feel like I always get the chance of just having it on its own. So this is a really good addition to it as well. It is. Again, if your children don't like to eat these things, blending it up is a good way to trick them because they don't realize what's actually in it. Absolutely. And it tastes really nice. So with that one, you would use half or whole. How many are you using? I'm going to use a whole banana. Okay. Because I'm going to make it... That's really filling ingredients in there, actually. It's very filling, yeah. Amazing. Like I said, it could be a substitute for a meal. Absolutely. Okay. Okay, so we have in there everything, the peanut butter, the dates and the almond milk. I'm just going to put that away. And we've got the bananas. Okay. And even bananas are quite sweet on its own as well, to be fair. Exactly. So don't really need any extra sugars. Just give it a jiggle. All right. Make sure it's nice and dry. Make sure that's really tight on top. We don't really want anything to see. Exactly. We don't want any accidents. I can tell why you use those dates as well, because it's actually soft and it's easier to blend. Exactly. And you can see the beautiful colors that have come through the milk. It looks like chocolate chips, really. Exactly. Another way to trick younger children. Brilliant. So we're going to see if that's all done. Again, you can use ice in this if you wanted to be cool. Oh, yes. Of course. Exactly. Right. So I'm just going to... Do you think that normally smoothies can be a bit too... I find it too thick, or do you think you could add more milk to it with the consistency? You can. So I'm going to have a look at this. Or even some water. You could do, yes. I'm going to have a look and see how thick it is, because I've put quite a few things in there. Yeah. And again... Because, I mean, it's a personal choice, really, as to how your consistency is, as to what you like. Exactly. So for... That seems quite okay. It's okay, but I will add a little bit more milk in there. Okay. Because I think it could do with just a little bit more. Again, you will kind of figure out with your own eye measurements. Absolutely. So that's probably about a tablespoon and a half extra. Okay. I'm going to just go and blend that again. Another factor we don't really take into consideration, as we mentioned before, as you reminded me by you still wearing your gloves, is the help and hygiene. Yeah. When we prefer preparing food, even in the house, we take it for granted that we're always clean. But it's so important, even Islamically, we have to always take extra care, especially in the kitchen, because we don't realize when you're mixing the ingredients and taking from one to the other and to teach our children in that way. Exactly. Yes, definitely. And there's so many hadiths as well that even shows and says about how we need to eat, how we need to even... Basically, when we're actually chewing and to be quiet as possible and to be respectful, and etiquette and manners are so important. And even though this show is health and nutrition, I think it works hand in hand with the way in which we need to perform and behave, whether we're in our homes or in public, and it starts from the home. Exactly, yeah. So it's really important that we consider that, especially, I want to bring this up because for our audience's sake, it's a quick reminder, and for the young as well, that when we are representing our beliefs and whatever it may be, it comes from religion is the fact that our manners and our etiquette, it does come through with how in which we need to be every day and also everyone around us is comfortable sitting with us and we can be proud because this is what we believe in and this is how we practice and we're representing that. Exactly. And again, like you were saying, it's a good way to introduce your children into Tidon and Kensinist and then Arafa and Iman. So they start teaching them that in school, in Arabic school, if they do go or if you do that at home, get them to do it and explain to them, okay, why do we need to wash our hands? Why do we need to do this? And it becomes a fun activity so they're learning through kind of play, in a way. So it's also a great thing. So I'm just going to go and blend this again. Sure, go ahead. A loud noise again. Do you know, I would normally, if I was to add some liquid to it, I wouldn't blend it again. So do you suggest for a smoothie if you're going to add some liquid or anything else afterwards, especially liquid, would you blend it again or would you just mix it normally? I do, but that's just me. Because I feel it's just going to make you think again. It's just happening. Well, let's have a look, like you said. Right. I guess I like to make sure it's all blended in nicely. Okay, yeah. And that you don't have bits of it at the top. Fair enough, yeah. So that's quite handy, yeah, of course. So let's have a go and see. Wow. So the colors are just so beautiful and just a mixture of... Absolutely. Actually, that's a fair amount and that actually would last me probably through breakfast and maybe a bit of lunch. Exactly, yeah. And if you've got younger children, they can have a little bit of this. Yeah, so you can share it amongst them. You can share it, yeah, exactly. Or reduce the banana. If you find it's a bit too thick. Yes. Instead of doing a whole banana, Do half. Do half and maybe reduce the dates as well. Dates as well. Okay. So there are different ways. There's no right or wrong way of doing it. No, of course. You can just trial and error. Definitely. But this is the way I do it and obviously you can kind of take it into your own hands and see. Okay. Right. Now, is it ready for me to try? Yes, it's ready for me to try. Let me just eat. Okay. Cool. I can taste a lot of banana in there and I can taste the peanut butter. So not a great thing if you're not a peanut butter fan or you could take the peanut butter element out. It's really nice. It's lovely. Obviously I took a while because obviously it's up the straw and it's quite a little bit thick than normal. But no, I love it. Thank you. And again, you can add ice into it. In fact, if you do add ice, it will make it a lot thinner. A little bit, yes, because of the water in there. Exactly, yes. Lovely, Sana. Thank you so much for that. You're welcome. That's amazing. So what other sort of ingredients other than this particular one for smoothies would you actually recommend? So I would use, say milk, but I would use banana and strawberry. That's really nice. And it's quick and easy. Oh, yes, of course you get different flavors, milks. Exactly, yes. So you can, especially for children, the banana and the strawberry, a lot of the yogurts that they make for children are around those flavors. They don't tend to like that. And put in almond and substitute the normal cow's milk for almond or coconut milk. Try it with them. Amazing. See how they take to it. They might not even notice. Okay. And it's also a lot healthier than the cow's milk. So it's good to introduce different things to children. It's good to have the variety. And like I said, these are such good nutrients that we're going to, you know, include in our diet. So it's amazing. Exactly. But thank you so much for sharing. You're welcome. Nishala, we'll be back with more recipes on Morning Butter Cup.