The Healthy Cooking Coach

Date Syrup: An Old Alternative to Sugar

I love dates and I’m always on the lookout for new ways to incorporate them into recipes. I like showing people how they can stand in for other dried fruits or for sugar (especially brown sugar) and other sweeteners in recipes. I’ve used dates in salads, smoothies, chutneys, as a filling for my Dark Chocolate Dipped Date Nut Truffles, and as a sweetener in baked goods, from banana oatmeal to chocolate and chocolate chip cookies and from brownies to blondies. However, in some recipes the texture of chopped or puréed dates doesn’t work. Enter date syrup.

Photo right: Erica Schlather, Mountgrove Arcadia Black Sphinx Dates

An old alternative to sugar...that's new again!
Cultivation of date palms goes back more 8000 years. Both dates and date syrup are mentioned in ancient texts. The Hebrews considered date palm “the tree of life.”

Date palms adorned the walls of King Solomon’s temple. Some varieties of date palms were allegedly grown solely for their leaves and used in the celebration of Palm Sunday in Italy and Spain. The Koran also contains references to dates.

Iran, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia lead the world in date production although the palms also thrive in Algeria, Egypt, The French Riviera, Greece, Morocco, Sudan, Spain, Sicily and Tunisia, Arizona and California.

A whole food sweetener
Late last year one of my readers told me about Organics Are For Everyone, a company that produces and sells date syrup. I checked their web site, ingredients, and packaging, then requested samples to experiment with.

Date syrup qualifies as a whole food. It has only one ingredient: itself! In this case not just dates but 100% organic dates. It looks and pours like molasses and has a rich, complex flavor. It’s less sweet than honey, agave nectar, or maple syrup. It makes a great alternative to processed sugar in cooking and baking. You can also use it as a topping for foods that would normally go with honey or maple syrup.

What’s in it for you?
Like whole dates, date syrup contains modest amounts of potassium, magnesium, calcium, iron, riboflavin, niacin, folate, phosphorus, pantothenic acid, and vitamin B-6. Ounce for ounce, dates contain more potassium than bananas.

Photo right: Organics Are For Everyone

Drizzle date syrup over any of the following:

• Hot oatmeal in place of brown sugar
• Pancakes or waffles topped with berries
• Plain (full-fat) yogurt or Greek yogurt
• Frozen yogurt
• Fruit salad
• Soft goat cheese topped with toasted pecans or walnuts
• Crisp flat bread or crackers (with soft goat cheese with or without toasted nuts)
• Mixed with roasted almond butter and spread on toast or baked brown rice Mochi
• Grilled or roasted meat

Incorporate date syrup into recipes for

• Ice cream or frozen yogurt
• Fruit popsicles
• Chocolate sauces
• Marinades for meat
• Fruit smoothies and protein shakes
• Cookie, cake, brownie, and granola bar recipes
• Muffin and quick bread recipes
• Candied nuts, pralines, and other confections

Check out Organics Are For Everyone recipe page for more date syrup recipes and ideas!

Here’s what I made with date syrup

• Crispy Sesame Bars
• Pralined Pumpkin Seeds
• Grain-free Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
• Banana Almond Flour Muffins
• Banana Mesquite Muffins
• Paleo Pumpin Muffins with Mesquite
• Karly’s Carob Sauce (from my Ice Dream Cookbook)

Photos right: Chef Rachel Albert, Copyright 2010

I’m planning to experiment more with this delightfully delicious syrup. If you try it, let me know what you make and enjoy with it!

Pumpkin Seed Pralines (see variations below for more ideas)           

Hands-on: 20 minutes   Cooking: 20 to 25 minutes Yield: 1 1/4 cups; 20 servings
       
Consider making a double, triple, or quadruple batch of these crunchy candied nuts.  They’re extremely versatile. I got the idea from Debra Lynn Dadd’s website, Sweet Savvy.  I replaced sugar or evaporated cane juice with honey or maple syrup and the cream with coconut milk. If you leave out the coconut milk, the nuts will be even more crunchy.

FYI: I don’t recommend eating handfuls of these in a single sitting...unless you have high energy needs. Half a cup of nuts packs 300 to 400 calories before you add syrup or coconut milk.  These crunchy, sweet nuts make a great garnish for green salads, fruit salads, or coarsely chopped and added to the ice cream maker during the last two minutes of churning or as a garnish at the table. They do make a great dessert in moderation, though!

Note: This recipe works with a variety of different sweeteners, nuts, and seeds. Use light colored honey for a mild flavor; use a darker honey for a stronger flavor. Maple syrup, sorghum syrup, and brown rice syrup work equally well; each has a slightly different flavor. Maple syrup and date syrup contains less sugar than other syrups; they're good choices if you prefer less sugar and a less sweet taste.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup shelled raw green pumpkin seeds (aka pepitas); Do not use the seeds from a fresh pumpkin—they contain a tough outer shell that is difficult to digest. (see variations below)
• 1/4 cup honey, maple syrup, light sorghum syrup, brown rice syrup or date syrup
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened, preservative-free coconut milk (regular, not lite), optional
• 1/4 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt (Redmond Real Salt or Celtic Sea Salt), optional
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice or 1 tablespoon whole or coarsely powdered fennel seeds

1.  Preheat an oven or toaster oven to 350˚ F.
2. Line a 9-inch cake pan or pie plate, a 9x12- or 8x10-inch baking pan, or a rimmed baking sheet with unbleached parchment paper or a silicone baking mat.
3. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and stir to thoroughly coat the nuts. Scrape the mixture (nuts and all the liquid) onto the prepared pan. With a lightly greased flexible spatula or large spoon, spread the nuts one layer deep.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes. Stir, then bake for another 5 to 10 minutes until the coating looks dry. Check frequently after the first 10 minutes; nuts burn quickly.(Seeds take less time than nuts.)
5. Remove the pan from the oven. Let cool for 5 minutes, and then turn the nuts over using one or two heatproof spatulas. Bake 5 to 7 more minutes to crisp the other side. Place the tray on a rack to cool.
6. When cool enough to handle, break the nuts apart or place them on a cutting board and chop into 1/4-inch pieces. Store in a covered glass bowl or jar in the refrigerator. Use within 3 months for best results.

1 tablespoon (w/coconut milk): 59 calories, 0.5 grams protein, 4.7 grams carbohydrate (grams fiber), 4.2 grams fat, 1 milligrams sodium

1 tablespoon (w/out coconut milk): 56 calories, 0.5 grams protein, 4.6 grams carbohydrate (grams fiber), 3.9 grams fat, milligrams calcium, milligrams sodium

Variations:

*    Almond Pralines: Replace pecan halves with shelled, raw, whole almonds.

*    Cashew Pralines: Replace pecan halves with shelled, raw, whole cashews.

*    Pecan Pralines: Replace pumpkin seeds with pecan halves.

*    Sesame Seed Pralines: Replace pecan halves with shelled, raw, unhulled brown or black sesame seeds. For a colorful effect, use a combination of the black and brown sesame seeds. These pralines will clump up more than whole nuts but they’ll still taste great.

Source: The Ice Dream Cookbook: Dairy-Free Ice Cream Alternatives with Gluten-Free Cookies, Compotes & Sauces by Rachel Albert-Matesz (Planetary Press, 2008).

The Avocado Oil Giveaway

Thanks go to all of you who entered and helped promote the recent avocado oil giveaway on my blog. I received a total of 27 entries and conducted a random drawing this afternoon. The two winners, Dr. Mary Rondeau of Draper, Utah, and Melissa Wood of Queen Creek, Arizona, will each receive a 25 ounce bottle of Ahuacatalan 100% pure avocado oil.

Keep reading my blog for details about July's giveaway. I'll be telling you about new products, new books, new places to dine gluten-free, new foods (including some you can harvest from the desert), new recipes, and interesting food facts.

If you hear of book, products, or restaurants you think I would like to know about, please send me an email with your suggestions.

I look forward to hearing from you.

In gratitude,

Chef Rachel

The Healthy Cooking Coach

Let the Bake Off Begin

One of my former cooking assistants, Calli Overstreet, who interned with me for a few months in the fall of 2009 hosted a Bake Off that took place over the weekend (Saturday, June 13, 2010). When She and I first met she was completing a bachelor of science in nutrition with a minor in communications at Arizona State University in Tempe.

The year before when Calli found me over the internet she said “You have my dream job! You’re doing what I want to do when I get out of school.” She wanted to write about food, teach cooking classes, speak to group, test products, develop recipes, and inspire people to eat healthier food.  

Calli interviewed me for a paper she was writing and then contacted me when she was ready to start her internship. During the time we worked together she assisted me with several classes and presentations, taped me making 5 recipes from my books, edited and uploaded the videos to YouTube, helped me improve my feedback cards for classes, and joined me on a restaurant review outing. 

Entrance requirements and prizes
The entry fee for the Bake off was modest: $10 per
recipe. Categories included cookies, cakes, brownies and bars, breads, and healthy. She planned to pool the entry fees with donations from the community to create the prizes: $100 per winning recipe, several kitchen tools, and ribbons. She also got donations from a few companies to raffle off prizes for the contestants, including a 1 hour massage, a haircut, and a $50 Kohl’s gift card along with a prize for the baker’s quiz. Each contestant received an apron embroidered with the name and date of the event. A small business donated the aprons.

Check out some of the competition. >>

The judges
Heidi Clouse graduated from Scottsdale Community College's culinary arts program in 2003 at the top of her class, started her own catering company; Blueberry Basil Catering Co., which she has successfully  run for seven years.
 
Shalene Barainca considers herself a certified food eater with 30 years of experience in eating yummy foods with expertise in desserts."You name it, I've tried it.  I am always on the look out of something different that will "wow" me. And when I find it, I will eat it."

More of the competition. >>

Mandy Scofield, the nutrition director at The Gainey Ranch Estate Club in Scottsdale, AZ, has a degree in nutrition communications and has worked extensively in food writing and restaurant reviewing. She teaches healthy cooking classes, counsels children and adults on healthy eating, and develops new recipes for Gainey Ranch residents.

Jan Wyler is the principal of New Horizon School of the Performing Arts, where the bake-off was held.

Judging criteria
Recipes were judged on presentation, taste, and recipe originality. They selected one recipe per category and one special award whose criteria was a mystery.

Event details
The event took place at New Horizon School ofPerforming Arts in Mesa. Contestants arrived between noon and 1 pm to check in, place servings of their recipes on the judges with a copy of the recipe and a card listing the name of the recipe. Remaining portions of the baked goods were placed on the contestant table for contestants and guests to sample after the judging.

Me with my context apron>>>

LJs pizza provided a complimentary lunch (pizza and a small salad bar). I knew I was unlikely to get what I wanted from the comp lunch, so I packed food from home: a baby green salad with vegetables from the farmers’ marke, topped with leftover grassfed rib eye, Basil-Balsamic Dressing (from my Garden of Eating Cookbook) and an apple.

The competition
The Bakeoff, the first of what Calli will be an annual event, attracted 20 entrants and 27 recipes. I specifically work street clothes (no chef coat, no chef pants, no chef clogs) to avoid drawing attention to myself. People might have seen my car in the parking lot with magnetic signs announcing my name and what I do for a living, but inside I would be just another face.

I was up against white flour, whole wheat flour, white sugar, (possibly margarine) and ….marshmallows! Some of the other entries included Chocolate Banana Bars, Bacardi Rum Cake, Good for You Chocolate Chip Cookies, Cheesecake, Ooey Gooey Cinnamon Rolls, Raspberry Filled Cupcakes, Ginger Snaps, Cake Pops, Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting, Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins, Crunchy Oatmeal Bars, and Frosted Star Cookies. See photos above.

My entries
I entered three recipes (two from my most recent book, The Ice Dream Cookbook). My Favorite Macaroons dipped in dark chocolate, Gluten Free Date-Nut Chocolate Chip Blondies, and Calli’s Fruit Cocktail Cake.

The Macaroons I modeled (maybe years ago) on Jenni’s Macaroons, a Jewish delicacy sold in canisters in natural foods stores. I liked the purity of ingredients: honey, unsweetened flaked coconut, and egg whites; however, found them way too sweet for my tastes. I analyzed the nutrition label for protein, carbs, and fat, figured out approximately how much of each ingredient they probably used, cut the honey back by more than 50%, supplemented with a minute amount of stevia, and tinkered with the recipe until I hit on something that I and my cooking students and friends loved. One of my cooking students gave me the idea of drizzling melted unsweetened or dark chocolate over the macaroons after they cooled.

The inspiration for the blondie recipe came from award-winning blogger and author David Lebovitz’ book, The Perfect Scoop. I replaced white flour with gluten free grain and nut flours, brown sugar with soaked and pureed dates, replace sugar with honey and stevia, and made a few other changes.

The prototype for the Fruit Cocktail Cake came from Calli who asked if I could improve her family’s favorite cake recipe in the Spring of 2009. I replaced cake flour with a combination of a gluten free flour blend and coconut flour, the sugar with honey, and the milk with coconut milk, added more eggs, etc. The result, after five or six tries, was a raved about recipe that worked with eggs and without that I used in a coconut flour article for the March/April 2010 issue of  Living Without Magazine. In retrospect, I would have plated this recipe for the contest the way I did for the photo for my blog last year. I honestly didn't give the whole issue of plating much thought. I will next time I enter a Bake Off for sure!

 And the winner is….
I found the suspense intense. I sipped my cold cammomile tea and waited for the judges decisions. I didn’t enter anything in the bread category, so that was out. As they announced the winner for each category I entered, I felt I twinge of disappointment (of course I saw what I was up against: huge amounts of seductive sugary sweetened delicacies, many of them frosted with cream cheese or marshmallow cream).

The feeling abated as soon they announced the special award for a recipe that stood out in taste, originality, great tips (I always put those in the side bars or head notes of my recipes), and presentation. I knew moments before I heard my name that I WON!! My Favorite Macaroon recipe won! I let out a squeal of delight and took the stage to receive my ribbon, say a few words about my recipe, and have my photo taken.

The last time I recall received any ribbons for winning were during the brief time I belonged to a Toastmaster’s group here in Phoenix (maybe two and a half years ago) and in my preteen years when I entered and placed in several horse shows. The next best part for me was after the event when one of the judges came up to me and told me how much she  loved my macaroon recipe. She’s diabetic and she told me how thrilled to see that I used stevia in my recipe. She could make them at home and eat them without the problems she would have when she ate sugar-laden conventional desserts.

I look forward to the next bakeoff and the next opportunity to wow people with food made from simple, wholesome, and nourishing ingredients. You can find the recipe for the macaroons here.

Avocado Oil Giveaway

You’ve heard about the health benefits of monounsaturated fats? Are you aware of the hazards and health risks associated with consumption of polyunsaturated vegetable oils?  Have you stopped buying and using soy, safflower, sunflower, corn, and canola oils, and generic “vegetable” oils? If not, click here to read my previous post, Move Over Olive Oil, Make Way for Avocado Oil.

Photo right: Storino's Quality Products©

Time for an oil change
For cooking and baking, the healthiest and best fats and oils are still real butter, ghee, clarified butter, lard, beef tallow, palm oil, non-hydrogenated palm shortening, and coconut oils. These are healthy, traditional fats with a long safe history of use. They are stable at room temperature and in cooking. You can also avocado oil to the list. (To learn more about fat and oil myths generated by the processed oil industry, read chapter 5: A Short Fat Primer in The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook.)

Extra-virgin olive oil is great for salad dressing and moderate to low heat cooking (best below 350 to 400˚F and medium or medium low heat), but in some recipes, that require a higher heat, such as roasting vegetables, it can be damaged. Enter unrefined avocado oil, which has the highest smoke point of all plant oils at 490˚to 520 F (virgin avocado oil has a smoke point of 375˚F; refined olive oil has a smoke point of 468˚F).

You can also use avocado oil in baked goods, including muffins, quick breads (banana, pumpkin, etc), loaf breads, pizza, foccacia, pancakes, waffles, as well as cookies and cakes. You can use it one for one to replace vegetable oil, margarine, shortening, or butter.

For marinating meats and vegetables, olive and avocado oil both work well. Which one you choose will depend on the temperature at which you cook the food. For uncooked applications (salad dressings, dips, drizzles and dessert sauces) olive and avocado oils are best because they remain liquid (coconut and palm oil become hard when refrigerated). Of the two, avocado oil has a more mild flavor, making it ideal in recipes where a strong olive flavor can overpower (e.g., homemade mayonnaise, sweet salad dressings, muffins, quick breads, desserts, and dessert sauces).

Food photos right: Rachel Albert Copyright 2009, 2010©

Avocado oil can also be used for as a moisturizer, for massage, and in homemade cosmetics (facials, creams, lip balms, soaps, hot oil treatments for your hair, etc.) to sooth, soften, hydrate, and rejuvenate irritated, sensitive, dry, or sun damaged skin and hair.

Avocado oil is king
I’ve experimented with a couple of brands of avocado oil. This year I discovered Ahuacatalan (pronounced  "AWA COTA LAWN") 100% pure avocado oil at the Wednesday Town & Country Farmer’s Market in Central Phoenix (20th street & Cammelback, near Trader Joe’s). It’s cold pressed at 40˚F and Kosher certified. To learn more about it click here. It has a light, slightly buttery flavor that blends well with almost any food, from savory to sweet.

Here are some of the ways I’ve used it:

Pomegranate Dressing
Spice Crusted Salmon
The Everlasting Salad
Karly’s Carob Sauce & Karly’s Cocoa Sauce
Grain-Free Paleo Pumpkin Muffins
Grain-Free Rosemary Olive Bread
Lemonette Dressing
Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Scones

Two lucky winners will each receive a 25-ounce bottle of Ahuacatalan 100% pure Avocado Oil. Here’s how you can enter to win.

Rules for entering:
MANDATORY: Subscribe to The Healthy Cooking Coach blog OR have someone you know subscribe. Click the “subscribe” button halfway down the page on the left, then leave a comment below saying that you did this.

    Note: If you already subscribe to The Healthy Cooking Coach blog, you MUST submit a comment telling me that you already follow my blog to have it count as an entry. Please spread the word and tell someone else about this blog.

For additional entries, do any of the following*:
   1. Leave a comment below with a link to your favorite avocado oil recipe or a recipe where you’ve substituted avocado oil.
   2. Visit my You Tube Channel, watch one of my cooking demonstrations, and let me know what you think by posting a comment below.
   3. Subscribe to my YouTube Channel or tell someone else about it, then leave a comment below saying you did this.
   4. Visit my Twitter page and leave a comment about why you like my blog, my cookbooks, or this giveaway, and leave a comment below saying you did this.
   5. Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment below saying you did this.
   6. Announce the giveaway on Facebook and leave a comment below saying you did this.
   7. Mention this giveaway to your family and/or friends and leave a comment below saying you did.
   8. Come up with your own creative idea and leave a comment below saying you did this.

***EACH ENTRY MUST BE SUBMITTED SEPARATELY and you’ll need to post a comment below telling me what you did each time!

* If you have any questions just email me (see link below my picture on the right side of this page). THIS IS A BLOG GIVEAWAY SO ALL ENTRIES TO WIN MUST BE DONE ON THIS BLOG POST.

*Giveaway ends Sunday, June 13th, 2010 at 11:59 PM (PST). Sorry, but this giveaway is open to U.S. readers only.

I Scream for Ice Cream Challenge and Ice Dream Cookbook Giveaway

Compliments and rave reviews are great. Imitation can be good too. Imitation is supposedly the most sincere form of flattery, right?

Well, I’m flattered that blogger Yasmeen Mohammad The HealthNut loves my Ice Dream Cookbook and recipes, that she gave it a big thumbs up in her review in July of 2009, that she took breathtakingly beautiful pictures of the recipes she made (without an ice cream maker!), that she regularly cooks from and recommends my Ice Dream Cookbook, that she's recently created a new frozen dessert using my recipes  as a model, and that she's created a fun contest this month.

In her review of my book on July 15, 2009, she made Roasted Banana Nut Ice Dream with Blueberry Sauce and dairy free Peach Melba. (Click review link for recipes.) She also made my Peanut Butter & Jelly Ice Dream in March of 2010 (all without an ice cream maker). Photo right by Yasmeen,The HealthNut.>>>

About the book, Yasmeen says:
“I totally love the book for introducing the healthier alternatives in home made ice creams, clear and descriptive recipes with fabulous variety of flavors. I've been using her recipes to make most of my Ice creams ever since I did the review. The cookbook is a best buy for any diet-conscious, ice-cream aficionado and those on restricted diets (low-sugar, gluten-free, dairy-free). You can read my complete review here.”

That's Peach Melba Ice Dream (above) made without an ice cream maker. Photo right by Yasmeen, The HealthNut.>>>

To share her enthusiasm and inspire others to make delicious, dairy free, naturally sweetened, low-sugar frozen desserts she’s created the “I Scream for Ice Cream Challenge, and Ice Dream Cookbook Giveaway” and posted her most recent recipe for dairy-free Kumquat Ice Cream with Kumquat Syrup and caramelized Kumquats modeled on recipes from my Ice Dream Cookbook. The deadline for entries is June 30th, 2010.

Are you up for the challenge?
You already know that homemade frozen desserts are far superior than store bought versions. You can customize the flavors and ingredients, use higher quality sweeteners and less of them, reduce unnecessary calories, and eliminate preservatives, artificial colors and artificial flavorings. You can also save money. Homemade frozen desserts typically cost half what you’d pay in stores.

 Can you create a fresh, healthy, homemade dessert recipe that fits her criteria? If so, you could win a copy of The Ice Dream Cookbook.

Do you need an ice cream maker to enter?
No. You’ll get the best texture using an electric ice cream maker, but if you don’t have one, Yasmeen offers tips for freezing desserts without one. (Note: You won’t get as much loft, your dessert won’t be as smooth, and they won’t keep as long in the freezer without icing up. If you shop at Costco, in many locations you can buy a Cuisinart Ice Cream & Sorbet maker with an extra prechill canister from Amazon using the link here.)

That's Yasmeen's Kumquat Ice Cream modeled on recipes from my book. Photo right by Yasmeen, The HealthNut>>>>

For complete rules to enter the "I Scream For Ice Cream!" Challenge click here. Note: You’ll submit your recipe on Yasmeen’s blog, not on my blog. Photos right by Yasmeen, The Health Nut.

If you like coconut milk, coconut cream, naturally sweetened desserts, non dairy frozen desserts, The Ice Dream Cookbook, or this blog, tell your family, friends and co-workers about this giveway and the how they can enter to win this book. Tweet about it, announce it on Face Book. I thank you, Yasmeen thanks you, and your family and friends will thank you after they dry the delicious recipes you make.

About the book
 The Ice Dream Cookbook is the first cookbook to feature delicious, naturally sweetened dairy-free frozen desserts made from coconut milk along with wheat- and gluten- free, naturally sweetened cookies, fruit compotes, and sauces. It provides information about the health benefits of coconut; tips for using a non-caloric herbal sweetener; charts to help you modify your favorite dessert recipes; a guide to buying ice cream makers and other kitchen tools; ingredient glossary; 80 recipes with more  than 200 variations; clear and detailed instructions; nutrition breakdowns, four appendices, index, illustrations, and 300 total pages.

If you can’t wait and you want to order your copy of the Ice Dream Cookbook: Dairy Free Ice Cream Alternatives with Gluten Free Cookies, Compotes, and Sauces today, click here or here to order it directly from the publisher for fast shipping.

For more healthy recipes, beautiful food pictures, and ideas, check out Yasmeen's blog. Book cover photo right by Reed Hamel, Phoenix, AZ.