Dates are a gift from nature and to those of us with a sweet tooth.
Dates are unbelievably useful in making healthier dessert alternatives and they can be used in SO MANY ways. I can’t think of anything that makes me happier then eating dessert and not feeling bad about it.
Dates have a ton of health benefits. They are nourishing, blood cleansing, a tonic for your liver, a diuretic (helps flush toxins out of the body), an aphrodisiac, benefit the eyes, are a uterine tonic, a muscle tonic, balance your electrolytes and are a laxative for easier elimination.
Daily elimination is critical to our health. Ayurveda considers lack of daily elimination to be constipation.
** if you run dry (Vata), hydrate your dates or sip water with your dates since dates and all dried fruits absorb a lot of water and can further internal dehydration.
These date “cake balls”, are essentiallyt a mix of dates, almond flour and some pecans. They are OMG GOOD!!!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
8 dates, pitted
1 cup walnuts or pecans
1 cup almond flour
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
optional: mini chocolate chips
Chocolate drizzle:
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 tsp. coconut oil
Directions:
- Add pitted dates into food process and mix until dates form a sticky paste.
- Add walnuts or pecans, almond flour, salt and vanilla extract.
- Blend until a crumbly mixture forms.
- With an ice cream scooper, scoop out the mixture and form with hands into rounds balls. place onto a plate.
- Set plate in the freezer to allow date balls to set.
Chocolate drizzle:
- Place chocolate chips and coconut oil into a glass jar.
- place in toaster oven for 2 minutes on low temperature (300-325 degrees) until ingredients are melted.
- mix the melted mixture together.
- Remove date balls from freezer. To drizzle chocolate sauce either place all the cake balls close together then dip spoon in chocolate mixture and drizzle over cake balls or lift each cake ball individually and drizzle chocolate on each ball.
Enjoy!
Notes:
Recipe adapted from minimalist baker cake balls.