Dates are known for their characteristic sweetness because of their high content of natural sugars. They are great healthy sugar replacements for desserts and meals. Dates are nutritious and can be used to make several healthy recipes.
Dates offer us an excellent option of reducing the amount of refined sugar in our meals. This means that we can eat healthily without sacrificing taste. There are many date-based recipes that offer numerous health benefits to us. Dates are a great source of natural sugars, while also acting as excellent energy boosts.
They are also known to be very rich in fiber, antioxidants, and minerals, this is why they have many health benefits. Due to this, there are hundreds of date recipes that offer health benefits from around the world.Click here for more info on dates.
Healthy Medjool date recipes: What are the health benefits?
With so many healthy Medjool date recipes from across the world, it is easy to choose and prepare any option. They have various health benefits which includes:
- Healthy digestion: Dates are very popular in that they are useful for healthy digestion. They are especially excellent for relieving constipation. They are rich in soluble fibre that cleans up the digestive tract and supports comfortable digestion. For people suffering from constipation, adding dates to their diets with lots of water help bring relief.
- Rich in natural sugar: Since they are extremely sweet, dates have a high natural sugar content. As fresh fruits, dates are unprocessed and whole, which means that they have naturally-occurring sugar contents. This is beneficial for various reasons. Firstly, dates can boost your natural energy level, so that you need not consume too much coffee. Secondly, dates when used as sweeteners for food dies not compromise the healthiness of the food. This is because, it contains natural sugars and not refined sugars. Refined sugars can predispose us to health risks like obesity and heart diseases.
- Rich in antioxidants: Dates are rich in antioxidants. Antioxidants help protect the cells in our bodies against free radicals. Free radicals are likely precursors to cancers and many other diseases. Dates are rich in different types of antioxidants such as phenolic acid, carotenoids, and flavonoids. Flavonoids minimize risks of inflammation and is known to reduce risks of Alzheimer’s diseases, diabetes, and some form of cancer. Antioxidants like carotenoids support heart health while phenolic acid possesses anti-inflammatory benefits that help reduce the risks of heart diseases and cancer.
- Enhanced strength: Dates have high volume of certain minerals that are known to enhance the strength of the bone. Examples of such minerals are potassium, phosphorus, calcium, and magnesium. It is important to keep the bones in a healthy condition. This is also very important as we age. Therefore, dates are an important dietary need for both young or old people. They can help us make our bones stronger (for younger people), while also fighting off osteoporosis.
- Promote labor in pregnant women: Dates help women who are in labor ease up the process. Women who eat dates throughout their last few weeks will experience an easy natural labor. Also, dates are known to be effective in reducing the total labor time while minimizing the possibility of induced labor. With dates, pregnant women do not need oxytocin – a medication taken to begin or accelerate labor. Dates are known to contain tannins – known to help soothe contractions. Dates are also rich in natural sugar, that help keep up the energy during labor.
Healthy tips for cooking and baking with dates
- Make a syrup or paste with your dates: There are many ways you can cook your dates. Among the easiest is by blending the dates or simmering them which produces a syrup or a paste. When done either way, you can easily replace the refined sugars in your meals with dates. This way, you get to eat a lot healthier. It can take you several minutes to make a syrup or a paste from dates. Additionally, it will last about two weeks when properly stored in your fridge. It is a good option as a natural sweetener used for desserts, meat dishes, or can be added to your chia pudding in the morning.
- Chopping dates: Especially when chopped up, dates can be very sticky. Rather than chop them off using a knife, you can snip them off using a scissors to make it less sticky and messy. To further prevent the dates from sticking, the blades should be periodically dipped into flour or warm water.
- Cook or bake with fresh soft dates: If soft and fresh, the dates tend to bake best this way. If your dates are dry, you can heat them up with water to soften them up.
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