Sweet Easy Better Sugar - DATE BUTTER RECIPE

"Sugar is a toxin.  Plain and simple." - Robert H. Lustig, MD, MSL, author of Fat Chance.

Do you have an active sweet tooth but you're also health-conscious?  Awareness around damage to our body caused by processed sugar and sweets is growing.  In contrast to manufactured "empty calorie" white or other sugars, naturally sweet foods straight from nature are digested and assimilated into our body in a totally different, much healthier way.  The problem isn't the proverbial "sweet tooth," it's what type of sweet tastes are consumed!

Some examples are bananas, carrots, apples, berries, mangos, pomegranate, papaya, melon, dried fruits including dates (with nothing added), which all contain valuable fiber, vitamins, minerals, and protective antioxidants and phytochemicals. Many of these straight from nature sweets (like applesauce or mashed bananas) can be used to great nutritional advantage in place of sugar in baked goods, etc.  

Trying to unhook from processed sugar by going cold turkey usually fails, so we need to go about it differently!!  The slow, intentional way works best and is much more sustainable!  It's  investing as you go along in your change process that just grows and deepens over time.

If you're wanting to reduce processed sugar and experiment with other forms of sweetness, a great way to start is to slowly integrate better forms of sugar into what you're already doing now.  The idea is to simply, easily, move in the right direction.  

At the same time, learning about the biochemistry of sugar and processed foods by watching "Sweet Revenge," by international expert Robert Lustig, MD, can help you sustain motivation for making changes. The link below takes you to a 4-minute clip and a way to access the whole film if interested.

https://robertlustig.com/sweet-revenge/

Combining scientific data with my process of change called The Crossover Method, can really turn the key without going through a restricting or purging process.  To start integrating better sweets into your day, don't purge the sugar and instantly replace it with something else!!  Continue to use sugar but ADD IN the new sweet into the same meal.  Also, when you start the process, fully allow yourself to NOT include the new whole food sweets on days you feel like returning to what you're used to.  It's all okay.  Ease into it on your timetable.  Take off the pressure and expectations, and especially the self judgement. A small step in the right direction really adds up!

"Inch by inch it's a cinch; yard by yard it's hard." - anonymous

Two-ingredient super sweet date butter works extremely well in place of jam, jelly, honey, in hot cereal, baked goods, as frosting or icing, as a topping along with nuts for plant milk ice cream, as a spread on crackers, in a peanut butter and date butter sandwich or anything your heart desires. Experiment!

DATE BUTTER (the easiest way is in a food processor, but a blender will work)

12 medjool dates, pitted

3/4 c filtered water

If the dates aren't soft, put them in the processor or blender with the water and let soak 30 minutes or so.

Blend until creamy but not pulverized, so that you can still see small pieces of the dates.  Store ideally in an airtight glass jar in the refrigerator.  Be sure to put the date created on the jar (I use blue painter's tape and a waterproof sharpie). It freezes well too.  

(OPTIONAL) For an anti-inflammatory boost, add before blending: 

Ceylon cinnamon (start with 1/4t and adjust to your taste as it is more potent than other cinnamon), and pumpkin pie spice, a dash of powdered ginger, nutmeg, clove as desired.

Use as a spread, dip, in baked goods, on plant milk frozen desserts, and more.

One medium-sized date has approximately 50 calories and 10 grams of natural sugar.  

Let this be a slow, gradual process as you acclimate to new tastes and find replacements that satisfy your sweet tooth.  Take the long view. Your starting point doesn't determine success--just start somewhere.  Feel good knowing you're providing quality nutrients to your body instead of harmful processed sugar.  You might even find that your sweet tooth becomes a great friend not an enemy because there is nothing harmful in consuming wholesome treats and sweets. It gives a certain peace of mind where before there may have been guilt and self-recrimination.  Date butter has been my sweet spot of success when it comes to unhooking from sugar and I hope you will enjoy it too!