To kick off my
Whole Food Lent Challenge we have my number one versatile
sweetener...Dates!
I have been thinking a lot about sugar recently. Completing
the Certificate in Plant Based Nutrition got me thinking about my habits and
how ‘healthy’ I actually am, or maybe more importantly the ways in which I
could still improve. It triggered me to think bigger and better than ever
before. For the first time I actually fully appreciated what the word ‘whole foods’
actually means. I know that might sound silly, but a healthy alternative is still often
not actually 'whole' and previously I hadn’t clicked onto that fact!
For example when it comes to sweeteners,. I love agave syrup
and use it a lot but there has been a lot of media attention in recent months
and years disputing the health benefits of agave and so I thought it might not
be a bad idea to think a little further beyond. Sweeteners that I have been trying out
much more recently are coconut sugar and also date sugar...date sugar is of particular
interest to me as it is a complete whole food.
The other bonus is, you can easily make your own date sugar!
I am planning on incorporating date sugar into many more of
my recipes to come, but at the same time I will also try and offer a substitute
so that those of you without will still be able to benefit from the recipes.
The ‘world’ of sweeteners can be a confusing minefield, and
I do like a bit of cake and so i’m simply not prepared to give up my ‘sugar’ in
modest amounts but obviously the healthier I can make sure this is the better.
What are your favourite sweeteners and what ‘healthy’ tricks
to you use to satisfy a sweet tooth?
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| step one- dried dates |
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| step two- first grind |
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| step three- re-bake and second grind |
Recipe: Date sugar
Makes 1 cup
Ingredients
3 cups fresh dates (I used deglet noor-
so as big and sticky as medjool)
1-2 tsp starch (I used arrowroot but others will also work)
Method
Halve the dates and lay them in a single layer on a lined baking
sheet.
Place in the oven on the lowest temperature (mine was approx 50C)
and ‘bake’ for about 3 hours, turn the oven off and allow to cool whilst still
in the oven. I left mine in their overnight. They should end up much harder and
dryer.
Placed in a high powered food processor (I used a Thermomix) and
blitz on high for 30 seconds. Add 1 tsp of starch and blitz for another 30
seconds.
At this stage I lots of small clumpy grains that were still a little
sticky. Lay this mixture out on the baking sheet once again in an even layer
and bake at a low temp for another hour until the mixture is very hard to the
touch.
Once fully cool, re blend the mixture in the processor adding a
touch more starch if necessary (the starch helps to prevent clumping). You could also add other flavours such as vanilla or cinnamon here if
desired.
Once the date sugar is as fine as you can get it and there is no
moisture present. Pour into an airtight storage container for future use. You
will find that the date sugar hardens together over time which is normal.
Use a fork to loosen for use.
Notes: you may find that if you are able to
ensure the dates are rock hard from the first bake the resulting sugar will be
fine enough from the first blend without the need for re-baking. You can also
use a dehydrator to achieve the same affect. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
For further guidance on making gluten free choices please see
this post.
For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.
