Recipe: $3.75
Per Serving: $0.12 (2 tbsp)
So this weekend there was a Harry Potter movie marathon. Yes, I'm a books-better-than-movies believer, but I do own the entire collection of movies and still have to watch them when they're on TV. Actually, over Thanksgiving, a bunch of us (family) were in the middle of a conversation and noticed one of the films was on TV and we stopped, mid-sentence, to all move to the living room and watch the movie. We don't do a whole lot of TV-watching here, but our apartment came with a TV, and Satellite, and a DVR, so sometimes we get sucked into Modern Family and Workaholics marathons.
Anyway, here's the thing about the movies this weekend: THEY INCLUDED DELETED SCENES. Like, for real. Deleted scenes. IN the movie. That's what I did with my free time on the weekend. Zac isn't any kind of HP fan (I know, right? What?) so he was reading surf magazines while I kept explaining what was going on, even though he clearly wasn't listening.
On a side note, we did enjoy a few of those Carrot-Applesauce Muffins during my couch-sitting marathon. And they're made with this stuff, Medjool Date Syrup.
If you're not aware, dried, unsweetened fruit is an awesome way to make your meals sweeter without refined sugar. It's great mixed in oatmeal, added to smoothies, mixed with greek yogurt, and even used as a honey replacement for muffins! I'm thinking about whipping it into some goat cheese also.
Sure, it doesn't taste exactly like honey, and it does have a mild date flavor, but it's definitely a great sweetener option to have, especially for the Paleo folks out there. There are a lot of different ways to make it, but I was looking for something pretty firm, and this worked for me. Using 15 large dates made about 2 cups of syrup. A serving size is about 1-2 tablespoons.
Use Date Syrup to Make:
- Carrot-Applesauce Muffins
- Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie
- Homemade Granola
- Dill Pesto (if you need it a little sweeter)
How to Make Date Syrup
Ingredients
- 15-20 medjool dates large dried , pitted
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Remove pits and stems from dates.
- Place dates in bowl and cover with warm water. Let sit for about 10 minutes until soft and mushy.
- Add dates to blender and blend, adding the water you soaked them in as you go. Continue blending and adding water until it reaches desired consistency, about 1 minute.
- Serve in place of honey!
- (Also: be sure to refrigerate it! Update: I modified the soaking time to 10 minutes instead of 1 hour. The first few times I soaked it for that long, but it is definitely not necessary.)
Nutrition
I have some pitted dates and i am looking to make some type of syrup or honey with them, this seems like a good recipe to try. I was wondering though, would this be able to hold up being frozen should it only byte stored in the refrigerator?
Hi Nandi - I think it would probably freeze just fine! Use as little water as possible, because the water might separate and crystallize in the freezer. But, I'm sure if you mix it together again, you won't have any issues!
Sounds good, how long does it last? Does it need to be refrigerated?
Mmm, good question. It definitely needs to be refrigerated (I'll update the post to include that!), and it lasts quite a while. Our first batch lasted about 3 weeks before we used it all, so perhaps a bit longer than that in the fridge?
Wow this sounds pretty delicious.