Dates are known for their nutritious content; they are rich in fiber, enhance energy levels naturally, help manage blood sugar levels, and contain many essential minerals that are crucial for bone health. Now, we can say regular sugar also gives a person energy. Most of us have heard of the saying, “he had too much sugar, that’s why he’s bouncing off the walls,” most of the time referring to the extreme energy one gets when consuming high levels of sugar. However, the difference between the energy one gets from consuming refined sugar compared to natural sugar is that the regular sugar just causes an instant spike in one’s blood and then crashes a little while after, leading to the instantaneous energy depletion that we feel.
However, dates have natural sugars that allow for our body to slowly absorb and provide energy that is more sustainable and lasts long. This is why the serving size for dates is very small, because they are nutrient dense.
With that being said, I love sugar still! But you can have it in appropriate amounts without it causing harm. If you’ve read my food articles before, you know that I love finding or creating healthy but still yummy dessert recipes. This past summer I discovered date bites on social media that do not contain refined sugars (well except in the premade dark chocolate bar) and tweaked the recipe according to my liking to cure the sweet tooth after dinner.
Ingredients:
- Half of a box of Medjool dates
- 4 tbsp of cocoa
- 4 tbsp of oat flour
- 2 tbsp of nut butter (I like raw walnut butter)
- A pinch of salt
- 3-4 tbsp of maple syrup
- Coconut flakes (to your liking)
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- Dark chocolate
Directions:
- Let your dates soak in warm water for 10-15 minutes
- Throw the dates in a food processor—NOT a blender
- In a big bowl, mix every ingredient except the dark chocolate
- It should be a dough consistency. If the batter is runny add more oat flour, if the batter is too dry add more syrup or milk.
- Roll the dough into tiny 3-inch balls
- OPTIONAL: I like to roll mine in dry millet puffs before dipping into the chocolate for an added crunch
- Dip into melted chocolate
- Leave in refrigerator till chocolate hardens
- Enjoy!