LIVING AN EXCEPTIONAL LIFE #94

By Rhonda Jones Let’s face it. Most of us are sugaraholics. Sure, you may not admit it, but it is hard to turn down a sugary treat. The problem with these treats is that they primarily contain highly processed white sugar that has little to no nutritional value and can really become addictive when mixed with chocolate.

I have to confess that I love sweet stuff, especially chocolate, so I am always looking for a way to have my cake and eat it too. Of course, a plant-exclusive diet is very low in sugar, salt, and oil, so when I started eating this way, I looked for ways to have a sweet treat without taking in refined sugar. I love fruit, but it just really does not give that satisfying feeling of having a rich, sweet treat.

Then, I found dates. The dates that we buy here are dried, so their sweetness is very concentrated. They have that rich, caramel taste that delivers a sugary punch but without the downside of empty calories in refined sugar.

Actually, dates are more than just a sweet treat. They are loaded with lots of nutrition. Dates contain fiber, potassium, magnesium, copper, and B6. They also contain several polyphenols (antioxidants) and can even help some people who have iron deficiency by supplementing iron intake, as they also contain a small amount of iron.

Two dates a day can help with digestion because they are high in fiber and can improve gut health. Dates can even help increase blood levels of hemoglobin, hematocrit, and ferritin, especially in toddlers, young women, and pregnant women. They could even help to lower cholesterol. What a powerhouse!

But don’t run out and eat a box of dates. They are loaded with fiber, so too many could cause gastrointestinal issues in some. And, since they are dried, they do have more calories due to their natural sweetness, which is concentrated when they are dried. It is recommended not to eat more than three a day, and believe me, that is plenty.

When I started a plant-exclusive eating plan, I learned that dates can be used in the same way as processed sugar because of their sweetness. Dates are also turned into date syrup and date sugar, which makes them easy to use as a substitute for processed sugar in recipes.

I slice up a date and add it to my oatmeal in the morning. For a sweet snack, I chop a date in half, take out the seed, and add a dab of peanut butter and chocolate syrup for a decadent treat. I actually use chocolate syrup made with date syrup that includes cocoa powder to turn it into a rich chocolate syrup.

You have probably seen the recipe on Facebook that turns dates almost into a candy bar. Simply line an 8-inch pan or a loaf pan with sliced dates (remove the pit), then top with peanut butter and peanuts and drizzle chocolate (semi-sweet chocolate free from animal products) on top with a tiny bit of salt. Pop in the fridge or freezer so the ingredients firm up. This can take a few hours or leave overnight.

Then just slice into squares and eat to satisfy those candy cravings. This can also be made without peanut butter if you are trying to heal or reverse disease. Such a great treat and healthy.

Just two dates a day can be an extra boost for your health, help with gut health, and curb those sugar cravings. That is a pretty nice package.