Dates are a small, highly sweet fruit with a hard pit inside. They grow on trees. They can be eaten raw as a snack or added to other dishes as a sweetener.

Choose dates that are shiny, uniformly colored and not broken. Choose dates that are shiny, with even color. The skin should not be broken.

Store on the counter in a closed container for several months. Dates can also be stored in the fridge for up to a year.

Remove the pit by cutting the date in half and scooping it out. Enjoy as is or chop and add to salads and other dishes. When chopped, dates are a great natural sweetener.

Dates are fat free, saturated free, cholesterol free, sodium free, and a good source of fiber (1/4 cup provides 12% of the daily value for fiber). Dates also provide 8% of your daily potassium recommendation and 6% of your daily manganese recommendation in a 1/4 cup.