When a person thinks of “natural sweeteners” you generally think of honey, maple syrup, natural cane sugar, coconut sugar, stevia and others.
This year I’ve decided to go without sugar, for the whole year, for my own personal health reasons and because I know that SO MANY others out there need to ditch sugar to feel as vibrant as they were meant to feel.
Sugar is wreaking havoc on our health, you can check out my post 101 Reasons To End Your Love Affair With Sugar, for more on that.
I’ve decided to omit these natural sugars and just use fruit instead to sweeten every recipe for this year. It WILL be a challenge.
I have been using dates to help sweeten smoothies for a while now and love the way they taste. My biggest complaint is slurping up a chunk in the middle of a nice smooth green drink, it kindof ruins the whole experience.
Instead, I now make date paste and use a bit to sweeten many things. It works so well and you don’t have to worry about coming across any chunks. SWEET!
All you need to do is soak dates overnight, drain and blend. That’s it.
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There you have it. Stay tuned to learn some recipes that use date paste. The first one will be a delicious strawberry frozen yogurt!
Have you ever used dates to sweeten? Share your recipes in the comments.
If you know of anyone who needs to go sugar free send them on over. The facebook support group is a great place to get motivation to stick with the goal of a year with no sugar.
Have a wonderful, healthy day,
~Hannah
I just finished a year with no refined sugar…only honey and coconut sugar once in awhile. I actually went 10 years with no refined sugar but for some inexplicable reason, started eating it again. I can remember the exact moment I ate it after 10 years. I experienced ringing in my ears, but even with that evidence against it, I just couldn’t stop. I would be ok for a few weeks and then give in. Finally last New Year’s Day (2014) I stopped and was able to keep to it. I am struggling a bit now for some reason and slipped a couple of times in a minor way, but still committed. I don’t use stevia or agave. I sometimes use coconut sugar, but I’m anxious to give the date paste a try. Thanks for the new way to use dates!
Wow 10 years without refined sugar! That’s amazing! It’s crazy once you reintroduce things how your body can react so strongly. I am like that with sugar also, not ringing in my ears but I have hot flashes (at the ripe age of 31) and get super irritable and anxious. I’ve just realized it’s not worth it. I hope you’ll join us in the facebook group. Make sure you’re getting enough healthy fats (avocado, coconut oil, butter, olive oil) that will help with cravings, so will fermented foods!