This healthy, simple treat is made with the awesome fiber and nutrients of a date but the deliciousness of chocolate.
Let’s talk about dates! I can tell you are excited to have this conversation!
We live in a world infatuated with sweet and sugary goodness but it is taking a toll on our health. Refined sugar and artificial sweeteners wreak havoc on our digestive systems!
Dates!
Dates are naturally sweet but also full of fiber which is so helpful and vital for our digestive tract. Fiber helps our body to process the sweetness and carbs so we don’t get the same blood sugar spike as we do with refined sugars.
Dates also have awesome vitamins and minerals and antioxidants. They give a good dose of copper and potassium and even have a little bit of protein in them. Pretty great!
Soak or Not
The recipe directions suggest a soak time for the cashews. Soaking the cashews makes them easier to blend but also may make them easier to digest.
I like to throw my dates in the bowl with the cashews to soften them up but it isn’t necessary. Soak or don’t soak. Do what works best for you. Don’t let the soak time keep you from trying this recipe. It’s great!
If you do soak, the end mixture will be wetter. When I don’t soak, the mixture below all clumps together in a big ball.
Quick and Simple
These little Chocolate Date Bites come together quickly and are awesome straight out of the freezer so they are easy to make ahead of time.
The ingredient list is short with just five simple ingredients and there are no added sweeteners – just the sweetness of the dates and they are yummy.
Simple Chocolate Date Bites
20 pitted dates
3/4 cup soaked cashews
2 tablespoons cacao powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
4-12 hours before you want to make this recipe, place the cashews in a glass bowl. Cover them with clean water. Let sit until ready to use.
(I like to throw my dates into that same bowl about an hour before to soften them up too. Not necessary but helps with the blending.) When you are ready to mix up the recipe, strain the cashews and dates super well.
In the bowl of a food processor (I have one similar to this), place all the ingredients. Run the processor until the mixture is pretty smooth and the chunks of cashews are very small.
Sometimes I have to stop the food processor and run a knife around the edges to push everything back into the blades.
Once processed, form the mixture into balls – you can do this with your hands or with a cookie scoop. I use this tiny one – its a 1/2 tablespoon size – for these bites and I love them.
Place all the bites on a plate and freeze them. When they are hard, place them in a glass bowl and cover them and store them in the freezer. Enjoy!
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