Banana-Fig-Vanilla and Orange Zest Shake

What makes a shake a shake and a smoothie a smoothie is something to be argued. I don't think it has to do with whether there's heavy dairy or ice cubes, neither are necessary. I go purely on taste and texture. Simply put, if it's smooth and creamy-it's a shake, if its more fruity with high water content ingredients, it's a smoothie. This is definitely a shake. A creamy smooth mix of fresh and frozen bananas blended with ripe figs, a squeeze, and a bit of zest from an orange, and pure vanilla powder. A super decadent shake without the fat or refined sugars, all natures pure goodness.

It is still early in the fig season and they are not at their peak in flavor, but they will still do wonders to a blended drink. People often try a particular fruit at a particular time from a particular store and say "yep, I don't like ______ fruit. Hardly a scientific method to say the least, and quite prejeduce to boot. Every fruit deserves to be defined by its best, it's peak season, bursting with sugars, falling of the vine, bush, tree best. With that said, someone has to jump first, and just because they're not "the" cream of the crop, doesn't mean they're of no value. A wise friend recently noted that even a bad fig is better than most things you'll eat. Indeed. Yes, there is something to be said for waiting, but in my opinion your not going to find that perfect fig unless you start early and eat a lot!

Banana, Fig, Vanilla, and Orange Zest Shake

-2 frozen bananas
-2 fresh ripe bananas
-6 figs (black mission or brown turkey)
-juice of 1/2 orange + zest
-1 teaspoon pure vanilla powder or extract

Place all ingredients into blender and whirl away, serve, and savor this creamy delight.