A while back someone on here started a thread about date consumption and the effects on labor. At the bottom there is a copy and paste of the article. Well, in the original thread I had promised a date recipe I had and I finally remembered to post it today...of course now I can't find the original thread so I had to start this one.

The recipe is actually from Chocolatecoveredkatie.com. She has several date based recipes so you might want to check out her site.....I love her!

http://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/2011/04/11/girl-scout-samoas-in-larabar-form/

I made these Samoas (yes....like the girl scout cookie!) for Christmas for my SIL who has celiac disease. They were FANTASTIC and super easy. The only tweaking I did to Katie's recipe is that I coated my hands in coconut oil prior to rolling the balls which helped them from sticking to my skin. Enjoy!

Packed 1/2 cup dates (90g)
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut (30g)
1/16 tsp pure vanilla extract
scant 1/8 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp chocolate chips or bar (14-28g)

Put all the ingredients together in your food processor, and blend. (I like to make 1/2 a batch and use the Magic Bullet short cup.) You can reserve a few of the chocolate chips to add, post-blending, if you so desire. See below for nutrition information.

Serving Size: 45 grams (the size of a Larabar)

175 calories
8 g fat
2 g protein
5 g fiber
0 g added sugars

And here is the article:

The effect of late pregnancy consumption of date fruit on labour and delivery.
Al-Kuran O, Al-Mehaisen L, Bawadi H, Beitawi S, Amarin Z.
Source
Jordan University of Science and Technology, Irbid, Jordan. oqba@yahoo.com
Abstract
We set out to investigate the effect of date fruit (Phoenix dactylifera) consumption on labor parameters and delivery outcomes. Between 1 February 2007 and 31 January 2008 at Jordan University of Science and Technology, a prospective study was carried out on 69 women who consumed six date fruits per day for 4 weeks prior to their estimated date of delivery, compared with 45 women who consumed none. There was no significant difference in gestational age, age and parity between the two groups. The women who consumed date fruit had significantly higher mean cervical dilatation upon admission compared with the non-date fruit consumers (3.52 cm vs 2.02 cm, p < 0.0005), and a significantly higher proportion of intact membranes (83% vs 60%, p = 0.007). Spontaneous labor occurred in 96% of those who consumed dates, compared with 79% women in the non-date fruit consumers (p = 0.024). Use of prostin/oxytocin was significantly lower in women who consumed dates (28%), compared with the non-date fruit consumers (47%) (p = 0.036). The mean latent phase of the first stage of labor was shorter in women who consumed date fruit compared with the non-date fruit consumers (510 min vs 906 min, p = 0.044). It is concluded that the consumption of date fruit in the last 4 weeks before labor significantly reduced the need for induction and augmentation of labour, and produced a more favorable, but non-significant, delivery outcome. The results warrant a randomized controlled trial.

Don't know about any of you....but I'm gonna be downing some dates starting at 36 weeks!