paleo – EATON

June 30, 2017

Date Sweetened Ketchup

I’m Canadian, so it’s pretty much a given in that I LOVE ketchup. When I moved down to Oregon from Saskatchewan, I had so many people say to me, “Wow! You put ketchup on everything!” While that’s a slight exaggeration, it is by far my favorite condiment.

Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on a bottle of store-bought ketchup? High fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, sucralose, sugar, torula yeast, natural flavoring… First of all, what the hell is the difference between high fructose corn syrup and regular corn syrup? Why do they need both? Sucralose, the food industry’s way of stamping “reduced sugar” or “sugar-free” on labels. It’s an artificial sweetener meaning they made it in a lab. Why use artificial sweeteners when there are perfectly good natural ones? Sugar = white refined. Torula yeast. Huh?! Natural Flavoring. Why not make a product that doesn’t need to have flavor added and is packed with delicious flavor from the original ingredients?

When I started to read labels and pay attention to the food I was eating, I was shocked at how little I knew about the ingredients. But…I knew damn well I wasn’t giving up ketchup so I had to find a solution. I sweeten tons of other stuff with dates so figured it might work in ketchup too.

So here you go, a totally natural ketchup with half the sodium and sugar as regular ketchup with ingredients that you know and can pronounce. Plus, it’s just in time for all my ketchup loving Canadians to celebrate with at their Canada Day barbecues!

Let me know how you liked this recipe by leaving me a comment and rating it below!

Homemade Date Sweetened Ketchup

Servings: 2.5 cups

Prep: 5 min

Cook: 30 min

Total: 35 min

Difficulty: easy

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NUTRITION FACTS: (per 1 tbsp) Calories: 12 Total Fat: 0 Saturated Fat: 0g Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g Monounsaturated Fat: 0g Cholesterol: 0mg Sodium: 85mg Potassium: 57mg Total Carbohydrates: 3g Dietary Fiber: 0.5g Sugars: 2.25g Protein: 0.3g

Ingredients

1/2 cup chopped, pitted dates
1 - 6oz can tomato paste
1 - 14oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp all-spice

Directions

Step 1 Add all ingredients to a small saucepan
Step 2 Cook on medium heat until it starts bubbling.
Step 3 Turn to simmer and cook another 15 minutes, covered.
Step 4 Pour mixture into blender and puree until smooth. (Caution: lid can be hot!)
Step 5 Pour back into pot and put back on low heat for 10 minutes, covered.
Step 6 Store in fridge for up to 3 weeks, or in the freezer for 2 months.