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WonkyWonderful

Whole Food for the Whole Family

September 10, 2013 By Nicole Harris 15 Comments

Date Paste Clean Eating Sweetener

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Date Paste is a Clean Eating Sweetener made with just two ingredients.  This sugar alternative is great for anyone that is trying to eat less refined sugar and replace it with a natural sweetener.
golden brown spread in glass jar with small wooden spoon on side, photo text: date paste natural sweetener

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Natural Date Sweetener

So really you can puree almost any dried fruit, add water and create a paste.  Dates are great because they are naturally super sweet.  Date paste also has a slightly caramel or brown sugar flavor.

My favorite way to eat date paste is in my oatmeal, in smoothies, spread onto toast or by the spoonful when I am craving sugar!

It doesn’t work in everything due to the consistency.  I don’t think I would ever add this to my morning coffee or tea.  But date paste is definitely worth having on hand and it is super-duper simple to make . . . in fact I wouldn’t even consider this a recipe.

And just a disclaimer: If you are adhering to a strict clean eating diet, dried fruit is considered off-limits by some clean eating sources while other sources allow it . . . you decide if this sugar alternative is right for your diet plan.

I have teamed up with several other bloggers that are posting about healthy lifestyle changes.  This week is focused on diet changes and healthy alternatives.  I’m not following a specific diet, but I am trying to eat less processed food.  So my goal is to eat food that is natural, unprocessed , unrefined . . . I’m dabbling in the Clean Eating Craze.  Oh, and my #1 goal is to finally conquer my diet soda addiction!

clear glass jar filled with brown spread

 

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Date Paste Natural Sweetener ::: wonkywonderful.com

Date Paste

Yield: 2
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes

Date Paste is a Clean Eating Sweetener made with just two ingredients.  This sugar alternative is great for anyone that is trying to eat less refined sugar and replace it with a natural sweetener.

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces Pitted Dried Medjool Dates
  • 1-2 Cups Filtered Water*

Optional Additions

  • Pinch of Cinnamon
  • Vanilla Paste

Instructions

  1. Double check that all of the pits have been removed from the dates. (I always find 1-2 pits in each batch)
  2. Transfer dates to a bowl and pour filtered water over them until dates are fully submerged.
  3. Allow dates to soak for at least 30 minutes. I've soaked for up to two hours.
  4. Remove dates from water and transfer to a food processor or blender. Reserve soaking liquid.
  5. Add 1 Tb of soaking liquid and begin to puree. How quickly the dates break down depends on the quality of your processor.
  6. Continue processing and adding soaking liquid by the tablespoon until you get your desired consistency.
  7. Also add the cinnamon or vanilla for a flavored date paste. (I prefer plain)
  8. I usually end up adding 3-4 Tb liquid to get my preferred consistency.
  9. Transfer date paste to a jar or sealed container and store in the refrigerator.
  10. Use within 2 weeks.

Notes

I use filtered water because I am adding the soaking water into the date paste. It is your choice to use filtered or non filtered.
I use the leftover soaking liquid in a smoothie within a day or so.

Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 1
Amount Per Serving Calories 53Total Fat 0gSaturated Fat 0gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 0gCholesterol 0mgSodium 2mgCarbohydrates 14gFiber 1gSugar 13gProtein 0g

Nutritional information on WonkyWonderful is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.

© Nicole Harris
Cuisine: American / Category: DIY Ingredients

 

golden brown spread in glass jar next to small wood spoon

More Naturally Delicious Recipes:

Clean Eating Balsamic Fig Jam

Honey Roasted Nuts

 

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Filed Under: DIY Ingredients Tagged With: dates

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Mel says

    September 11, 2013 at

    Yum date paste with soft cheese mmm now I’m hungry. I have a terrible coke zero habit I’ve been trying to kick I swear it’s a drug!

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      September 11, 2013 at

      Mmm, that does sound good. I agree, I had an easier time when I quit smoking and drinking! Diet Coke must be laced with drugs!

      Reply
  2. Shareba says

    September 11, 2013 at

    This looks good! I’ll have to try it when I get off of my allergy elimination diet.

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      September 11, 2013 at

      Thanks! Good luck on your elimination diet … I had to do that earlier this year and it sucked!

      Reply
      • Shareba says

        September 11, 2013 at

        Do you have any tips? It’s so bad right now. I’m only on day 3, and I just had a couple bites of cupcakes… sigh.

        Reply
        • Nicole Harris says

          September 11, 2013 at

          No sorry, wish I could help but I wasn’t very good at it either. I started by eliminating processed food, then sugar, then dairy … then I just ended up fasting for days (which is very unlike me). After fasting I still had my issues so I then knew it wasn’t diet related. Food ended up not having anything to do with my problems. Good Luck!

          Reply
  3. Gillian @ the haas machine says

    September 11, 2013 at

    I am/was/probably always will be a diet coke junkie. What really has helped me get through it is mineral water (either flavored or I even like plain). I love the bubbly treat of a good ol’ dc, so that has really helped me not feel deprived!

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      September 11, 2013 at

      I go through phases. I’ll do really good and drink alternatives and then I will have a week that I just pound big gulps of Diet Coke! Thanks for stopping by 🙂

      Reply
  4. Joey says

    September 13, 2013 at

    Hi, can you use this date paste in baked goods as a replacement for sugar?

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      September 15, 2013 at

      Hi Joey! I have never used date paste for baking. I tried to search for a good article that covered the date paste for sugar conversion, but I didn’t find one. It seems that people do use date paste in baking recipes but it is more of trial and error to get the measurements correct. Sorry I couldn’t be more help. Have a lovely week!

      Reply
  5. Heather @ French Press says

    September 13, 2013 at

    nicole, this really is a great idea

    Reply
  6. Jaan L says

    October 26, 2013 at

    I need this…I’m doing my best to cut out processed sugars, and being a sweet freak, I still crave sweets. This date paste will be perfect for those times. Thanks so much for sharing.

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      October 26, 2013 at

      This does work great to take care of those sweet cravings. Good Luck, Jaan!

      Reply
  7. Caroline says

    January 22, 2015 at

    I’ve been making and using date puree for a couple of weeks now and have very happily replaced sugar in both my tea and coffee. It’s very difficult to tell the difference between a sugared coffee and a date puree’d coffee 🙂

    Reply
    • Nicole Harris says

      January 22, 2015 at

      I’m happy it is working for you!

      Reply

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