Dates are nutrient-dense and warm in potency. They feel like summer in the winter season. Growing in warmer parts of the earth, dates usually capture the essence of their surroundings and begin to bear fruit in april-may, but won’t ripen until august-september. Dates are considered a superfood for winters due to their high sugar content, which is required by the body during the winter to produce heat energy.
Several traditions have embraced this quality of dates and included them among the essential foods to have in a winter diet. Dates can be used in many different ways to make several types of desserts and delights. Eating dates might not sound very appealing to you at first but you might definitely want to include them in your diet after you read this article.
Today we are going to share with you some ways to include khajoor or dates in your diet, along with the benefits associated with them.
1) Use Chopped Dates As Sweeteners
Dates are known for their high content of natural sugars. They are an excellent and healthy replacement for refined sugar in desserts, drinks, meals, and cakes. Replacing dates with sugar will not only make the dish healthier but also more delicious. Dates can be used in several forms as a sweetener, such as date syrup, date paste, and date sugar. If you don't want to go to these fancy ways, you can simply add pieces of dates to sweeten your dish.
2) Use Dates In Salad And Cereals
Chopped dates in salad are a good way to add something sweet to crunchy vegetables. Along with salad, you can use dates to sweeten your morning cereals to make it an energetic morning meal. Adding dates will not only sweeten your salads and cereals but will also give them a munchy bite and make them fun to eat. It’ll be a sweet secret for your salad and your guests will keep wondering how you made it so delicious.
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3) Make Warm Smoothies With Dates
The earthy, nutty, chewy, and honey-like dates can make your winter smoothies a cosy and warm experience for you. Adding the pulp, syrup, sugar, or pieces of dates to your smoothies and shakes instead of sugar and honey will elevate their taste to the next level. Dates will give a different texture to your drinks and make them thicker and more pleasant to drink.
4) Make Desserts With Dates
Dates can go well with several kinds of desserts. Several varieties of dates, like kimia dates, medjool dates, mazafati dates, etc., are good alternatives to chocolate and sugar. Several traditions celebrate winter by making dates sweets, which are offered as a serving during pooja. Desserts such as date laddoo, date brownie, cookies, and pudding are a good way to make chilly winter nights cosy and comfortable.
5) Make Energy Bars And Balls With Dates
Dates energy balls are often recommended by gym trainers and fitness influencers. Khajoor energy balls are best eaten with warm milk in the morning and at night before sleep. These tasty bombs of energy are famous for providing essential nutrition to people of all ages. To add more flavour to these balls, you can coat them with dessicated coconut, which will also make them appealing.