After all the holiday sweets, traveling and cookie experiments (more on that later) I was ready for a sugar detox so I decided to try a 31-day sugar fast. For the entire month of January I will try to avoid all sugary foods. I have been at this for about 14 days and it has been quite the challenge. I guess it is true what they said in the Fed up documentary that sugar is addictive. When this is all over I hope to keep my sweet tooth in check but doubt I will give up sugar all sugar forever.
At the Supper Club we celebrated soup weather. I served two of my favorite soups with a hardy sandwich, fresh salad and an amazing all natural dessert. But it wasn’t all a party; this month I decided to extend my “no-sugar challenge” to the whole club. I did however, only ask them to join me for a 10-day sugar fast. I shared some highlights from the Fed Up to help get them motivated.
The menu for the evening was:
Split Pea Soup
Corn Chowder (Recipe and Video here)
Garbanzo Sandwich Spread (adapted from this recipe )
Power Greens Salad
Sugar Free Date Bars (adapted from this recipe )
It is hard to tell what the favorite was this month they seemed to love it all. Many split pea haters said they loved the soup and someone wants me to start selling the Date Bars on the side. So with that said I will share my version of the Sugar Free Date Bar with you.
Tip of the day…buy pitted date when you decide to make these especially if you are making 6 batches ; )
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Sugar Free No Bake Date Squares
Crust:
- 1½ cups whole raw almonds
- 1½ cups regular oats
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup whole dates pitted
- ¼ cup coconut oil
Date filling:
- 2½ cups whole dates, pitted
- ½ cup water
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- Line pan with parchment or wax paper for easy removal of bars.
- Place Almonds, oats and salt in a food processor and process until it becomes like flour.
- Add dates and continue to process until a crumble begins to form.
- Melt coconut oil and add to the mixture and process until sticky. You may need to add a little water if your dates were drier, you are looking for a sticky, slightly crumbly dough. Set aside ½ cup of this mixture for the topping.
- Press the remaining mixture into the bottom of the pan to form a crust.
- Add the remaining dates, water and vanilla to the food processor and process until smooth and creamy. Stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Pour the mixture onto the crust and spread evenly.
- Sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the dates and gently press into the dates. Refrigerate until firm at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve. Store in the fridge or freezer.