Periodically I am going to share foods have been a big part of my healing journey. Here’s one that satisfies sweet cravings and is reasonably anti-inflammatory.
Healthy snacks are one of the most difficult to change and get in the habit of when making a big diet change. So my dear friend and raw food chef Svenja Blanke and I developed these energy bars with the following criteria in mind.
- They need to be tastier or just as tasty as something we can purchase
- They must be easy to make and scalable
- They must be chocolatey
- They must be chewy
We are developing a low sugar option next.
Ingredients:
- 12 large dried dates (medjool or honey dates are fine)
- 1/2 cup oats from Longspell Point Farm
- 3/4 cup coconut flakes
- 3-4 pinches of salt or however many you like
- 3 tbsp dark unsweetened cacao powder (use the best quality that you can afford, good quality cacoa makes all the difference with bars) I often by ours in bulk from EOS fine foods
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- 2/3 cup toasted sunflower seeds
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 pinches of finely ground cayenne pepper, if you like spicy, add more cayenne
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extra
Instructions:
- Soak the dates in water for 2 hrs or in hot water for 8 min (depends on how dry the dates are, it can take 5 min to soak or not require soaking at all if the dates are very juicy)
- Mix all the dry ingredients (oats, coconut flakes, salt, cocoa powder, sunflower seeds, cayenne) in a large mixing bowl with a fork
- Add almond butter, melted cocoanut oil, and vanilla to dry ingredients and stir well
- Remove the dates from the water with a fork and add dates to the mixture
- With your fork or hands, squish the dates into the mixture until are completely mixed in and there are no more chunks of dates. Think of the dates as as the glue that holds the balls together. If you press down on the mixture with your fork or your finger and it seems to stick well together, continue to the next step. If you find that the mixture is not sticking together well as balls, add a little more honey, dates, or almond butter
- Use your hands and scoop out about 1 tablespoon of the mixture. Roll into a ball (should be about 1-1 ½’’) and place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat rolling until all the mixture is all used up
- Optionally, you can roll the balls in crushed nuts, coconut flakes, or cocoa powder for colour, added texture, and prettiness as you see in the photo.
- Transfer to a freeze safe container and place in the freezer for 20 minutes
- They are best stored in the freezer. They can last for months in the freezer, but they rarely last that long because they are too yummy
If you want more recipes like this and the skills to be able to improvise and make your own, I invite you to check out my latest offering https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/delicious-gluten-free-and-dairy-free-vegan-desserts-bread-and-snacks-tickets-210660750977
Please let a comment below if you make these.