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This 4-Ingredient Dessert Is The Simplest Healthy Way To Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Liz Moody
Author:
Liz Moody
December 8, 2018
Liz Moody
Contributing Food Editor
By Liz Moody
Contributing Food Editor
Liz Moody is a food editor, recipe developer and green smoothie enthusiast. She received her creative writing and psychology degree from The University of California, Berkeley. Moody is the author of two cookbooks: Healthier Together and Glow Pops and the host of the Healthier Together podcast.
Photo by Claire Tansey / Contributor
December 8, 2018

Good food doesn't have to be complicated—that's blogger and former food director of Chatelaine magazine's Claire Tansey's perspective. In her new book, Uncomplicated, she breaks down the basics of making healthy food simply, using smart cooking techniques and innovative flavor combinations.

This dessert takes a base of Medjool dates, which are fatter and more caramel-like than their Deglet counterparts, and gently warms them to bring out their sticky-sweetness. "Flavoring them with orange and salt balances their sweetness," Tansey says, and it doesn't hurt that the orange zest is rich in flavonoids and actually higher in vitamin C than orange flesh1, and the extra-virgin olive oil adds additional anti-inflammatory, skin-glow-inducing benefits.

Warm Dates With Orange Zest and Olive Oil

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 6 Medjool dates
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • Zest of 1 orange
  • Flaky sea salt, such as Maldon

Method

  1. Remove pits from the dates while keeping the dates as whole as possible.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a medium frying pan over low heat. Add the dates and cook, gently stirring from time to time, until just barely warmed through, 3 to 5 minutes. (They burn easily, so pay close attention.)
  3. Transfer to a serving platter. Sprinkle with orange zest and salt.

Based on excerpts from Uncomplicated by Claire Tansey, with the permission of Penguin Random House. Copyright © 2018.

Liz Moody author page.
Liz Moody
Contributing Food Editor

Liz Moody is an author, blogger and recipe developer living in Brooklyn, New York. She graduated with a creative writing and psychology degree from The University of California, Berkeley. Moody has written two cookbooks: Healthier Together: Recipes for Two—Nourish Your Body, Nourish Your Relationships and Glow Pops: Super-Easy Superfood Recipes to Help You Look and Feel Your Best. She also hosts the Healthier Together Podcast, where she chats with notable chefs, nutritionists, and best-selling authors about their paths to success. Her work has been featured in Vogue, Glamour, Food & Wine & Women’s Health.