#TuBishvat Green Smoothie & Date-Fig Bars

In honor of Tu BiShvat we had green smoothies...

Simple recipe - bananas, milk, a little chocolate syrup (mostly because they were watching and insisted) and a little whipped cream on top (because, of course, it's a holiday!)

I can't believe that my oldest, who won't ever eat a vegetable, drank this smoothie.

And an easy way to celebrate the greenest of green holiday!

(We had these smoothies on Erev Tu Bishvat and we're going to make them again for the big day...okay, it might become a regular thing.)

We also had delicious date-fig bars.

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion's Bakery Date Squares

Date-Fig Bars:

Filling:
3 cups of chopped dates and figs *the original called for only dates, and had a variant filling recipe using figs and orange juice, but I just mixed up dates and figs for that Tu Bishvat flavor!
1 cup of water
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons vanilla

In a saucepan, combine the stuff, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 5 minutes. The mixture will thicken after a few minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. I ran the immersion blender through it to give it a nice smooth texture and let it sit for a while.

Crust:
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
1 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

Whisk together the dry ingredients (except the nuts) and then add the melted butter. Stir until well combined.

Lightly grease a 9x9 inch pan and press 2 1/2 cups of the crust mixture into the pan, smoothing it out to fill the bottom with no gaps. Spread the filling on the crust. Add the nuts to the remaining crust mixture and sprinkle it over the filling.

Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees, until golden brown. Let cool before cutting.


What treats will you have (or did you have) for Tu BiShvat?