I know lots of you love doing some healthy baking on the weekend which is why I thought sharing this recipe for a pure, raw date syrup was the perfect recipe to share today! This date syrup is my favourite alternative to refined sugars and even so-called processed ‘healthy’ natural sweeteners. The best thing about it is it’s only got three ingredients (well two.. does water count?!). One of the reasons I love using dates to sweeten my sweet treats is that unlike refined sugar, dates are full of vitamin & minerals. There have been lots of talks recently in the media about how fruit sugars and regular refined sugar are processed in the same way by the body. Yes, this is partially true, all sugars, fruit or not, do affect your blood sugar levels. However, depending on the kind, it affects the way it is then used in your body and how high your blood sugar levels do rise. For example, 6 teaspoon’s of brown sugar would give you an incredible sugar rush, which would in minutes plummet, leaving you feeling even more tired! A banana also contains 6 teaspoons of fructose (fruit sugar) yet it also has many benefits to our body, including a wealth of fibre. Fibre helps to control blood sugar levels soluble fibre, in particular, can slow the absorption of sugar and help improve blood sugar levels. This means the effects are minimised. In this case dates provide us with fibre, and potassium, an essential mineral in the maintenance of healthy muscles.

This recipe takes two minutes to make, and lasts in the fridge stored in an airtight container forever! Though, I really love making fresh batches as all the goodness the dates are still potent!