These sweet treasures accent many different delicacies and dishes. Here are a few recipe ideas.
Dates contain high amounts of fiber, antioxidants, and other nutrients. But they are so sweet. You might wonder how they can possibly be good for you. While they are high in sugar, they actually boast a low glycemic index. The fleshy outer layer contains a healthy amount of fiber, which slows down your body's absorption of the sugar, making them safe in moderation for diabetics and sugar-conscious eaters.
These sweet treasures accent many different delicacies and dishes. Here are a few recipe ideas.
Slice halfway through a date and stuff it with nuts or nut butters, such as walnuts, pistachios, or almond butter. Top them with a tiny pinch of salt and you have a delicious blend of sweet and savory. You can prepare them to eat right away or pack them to go. If you make stuffed dates for the week ahead, store them in the refrigerator or freezer. A frozen stuffed date makes a great dessert!
You can also blend the dates and nuts in a food processor and create protein bites or bars to bring with you on the go!
Since dates are naturally sweet, adding them into your smoothie amplifies the sweetness of your smoothie while also balancing your blood sugar with fiber. Here is a delicious recipe for a banana date smoothie.
Warm oats. By themselves? So boring—in taste and appearance. But, if you splash a little oat milk and slice up a couple of dates and pecans for garnish, you've got yourself a beautiful breakfast!
Top your greens with a few sliced dates for a flavor you can savor. You also do not need an overly sweet salad dressing if you have topped your salad with dates. Make it a simple olive oil, lemon juice, salt, and pepper dressing and save the sweet for the professionals.
You can make a date paste by blending water and dates into your food processor. You can sub date paste for sugar in almost any recipe 1:1. After making the paste, add the rest of your sauce ingredients into the food processor and blend them together to store in the fridge for the next week or to toss immediately onto your salad, rice, or meat! Here is a recipe I love to make for a dijon mustard date dressing.
Since dates are so sticky, they hold pastries like pie crusts together well. Try this excellent berry tart that uses dates in the base.