I’m pretty sure I’m an addict. A sugar addict. With this quarantine, I have had extra time to bake but the amount of sugar we were going through was becoming a bit alarming. A while back, my health conscious sister brought a study to my attention that involved investigating the behavior of sugar dependent rats. Basically it found that the rats addicted to sugar had a stronger addiction than the rats addicted to drugs. They just couldn’t get enough and kept going for more. This really scared me because I know I can’t get through the day without something sweet. I noticed that I started getting headaches if I was missing my daily sweet treat. Not good.

Enter: dates! Dates are natural and can be used as sweetener so I figured if we’re going to start cutting back on our family’s sugar intake, let’s go with something that has a lower glycemic index, plus fiber, antioxidants and vitamins then we can make adjustments from there. I do use honey and maple syrup when I can but the benefits of dates far outweigh the benefits of the other two. With dates, it’s a win win: you get the sweetness plus the healthy stuff.

To tell you the truth I have been nervous about how it would affect the taste and texture when used as a sugar substitute for baking. So I’ve been experimenting with my new found paste in several of my staple recipes and have found really great results. So far it worked well for banana bread/muffins, granola and even great as a salad dressing paired with balsamic vinegar and olive oil. Please share how this paste works out for you and stay tuned for more date paste recipes!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups medjool dates

1 1/2 cups water

Instructions

1. Place dates in small saucepan. If using non-pitted dates, slice each one open and remove the seed first.

2. Cover dates with the water.

3. Place on medium heat for 5-10 min until softened. You don’t want them to sit there too long, just long enough to blend easily. The skin should be peeling off slightly (pictured above).

4. Remove about 1/2 cup water and reserve.

5. Place the rest of the water with the dates into a blender or food processor and blend until it forms into a thick paste. Use the reserved water to thin it out as needed.

Notes

I store mine in the refrigerator in a glass container for about 2 weeks before I need to make another batch.