RAW: DATE PASTE + A SNACK WITH APPLES & MACADAMIA NUTS

 

 

 

What I love about the recipes we share on A Simply Raw Life is that they are, for the most part, simple and easy to make.  We hope this makes it just that much easier for you to take that next step to adding more plant based and non processed foods into your diet.    If you are new to eating a plant based diet, raw foods, or even vegan, we hope that you enjoy these easy recipes.  Please feel free to email me or post a note as to what kind of recipes you would like to see on the blog and I will do my best to work those in.  What I have found is that I have not lost taste or satisfaction in the foods I eat after making this transition.  There are so many flavors and tastes to enjoy!

 

Here's a really quick basic recipe that can be an easy staple to keep in your refrigerator.   If you like my fig jam recipe, or you keep other sweet spreads in your refrigerator, this is a perfect natural addition.  If you are trying to eat more raw and unprocessed foods, why not make your own spread or sweet treat at home?  Spread it on fruit, toast, or crackers.   Here's how to make it and also a simple snack I made using it.

 

 

 

This recipe yields roughly 2 cups of Date Paste. If you think this may be too much then you can freeze half of the batch, or just make a half batch.

DATE PASTE

 

INGREDIENTS:

40 medjood dates, soaked in warm water until your dates are soft and tender.

2 table spoons of water.

Soak the dates in warm water until they are soft and tender and drain.  Remove the seeds by hand.  Put all the dates in a food processor with 2 table spoons of water and blend until smooth.  Depending on how large your food processor is, you may need to stop processing in intervals to scrape down the sides to remove it all  and process some more.  Don't be discouraged.  It's worth it.

Puree your Dates until they have become a thick whipped and creamy texture. Place your date paste in an air tight container and store in the fridge or freezer.

 

So easy!

I cut up some apples, spread on some of the date paste and sprinkled it with some chopped macadamia nuts.  Super delicious.



Bon Appetit!



 

Helpful Hint:

 

You can make your Date Paste in bulk. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer. Store your Date Paste in a ziplock baggy, laying it flat in your freezer. Freezing it flat will enable you to break off a small or large piece as you need it. This is a great way to get your kitchen raw food ready. The more advanced preparation and planning you do, the better you will eat.

Check out the health benefits from eating dates HERE.

 

Enjoy!!

 

 



KITCHEN: BUILD A NATURAL FOODS PANTRY

 Before

 A bit scary I must say...

After

I am loving it...

Well, this is definitely a work in progress, but I love how its coming along.  I think one very helpful change to making your life over to cooking and preparing natural foods is to have your pantry well stocked.  This year I made the decision to really focus on changing the way I cook for myself and my family.  I am focusing on eating as much raw foods as possible, natural and whole food ingredients, building a natural foods pantry, embracing more grains and cooking with an eye on color and super foods.  Early in 2011, I got my hands on Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Everyday cookbook and she has really inspired me in my cooking and thinking when it comes to food.  I love her blog as well ~ 101 Cookbooks.  She talks about building a natural foods pantry and I FINALLY starting working on it after a year of just thinking about it.

I love how my pantry is turning out.  It still needs work and it will take time, but I think the best part about all of is that you can see what you have stocked through these clear containers.  When you need to go to the market,  you can take a quick look and see what you are low on.  Before, everything was a mess and also stuffed into my pantry drawer, so I couldn't see everything quickly.  I always ended up buying something I already had.  This really makes going shopping so much easier.   There was definitely a lot of throwing out of things that were very old and things we so not eat anymore.  It's actually very liberating.

I purchased all of these containers from Ikea and I love them.  They come from two series... The 365 + series are the tall and small plastic containers which are $2.99 and $1.99 each.  The glass jars are from the SLOM series and are $2.99 each for the small and $4.99 each for the large.  Really great prices!  To stay on my weekly budget, I bought these over a months period.  But, the prices are very reasonable, so if you can afford to purchase a bunch a once, I would just do it!

I will be posting next week about our favorite grains.

So, come on everyone...let's build a natural foods pantry!

Will you join me?

Have a wonderful weekend!