Lately I found myself falling into temptation when it comes to my sweet tooth especially that I am a formal chocolate addict ( I know those double chocolate sticks didn't do my abs no good) so I decided to make my own healthy snacks and keep them in case of emergency. I tried this almond covered dates and also did a few coconut covered ones.....They are little yet powerful full of fiber, protein, and potassium. Easy for a quick powering snack on the go.
First lets learn a little about the benefits of dates.....
One medjool date has around 15 mg of calcium
13 mg of magnesium
14 mg of phosphorus
167 mg of potassium.
traces of the B-vitamins
choline
vitamin K.
4 mcg of folate
vitamins A
the antioxidant beta-carotene.
Recipe:
-Toast the almonds (if you want to toast them I like the taste of tasted almonds better but it is not necessary) by baking them spray the baking sheet with one layer of pam and place the almonds on there and toast them (I did 15 minutes on 400 degrees) I think 10 minutes is just about right you need them to be golden not too brown because they become bitter.
-place the mejdool dates in the food processor and add water since you are using mejdool they are moist so do not use too much water (like i did) so 1/4 cup of water for a 1 lb of dates is just right. blend until it is ground (paste like) (some would like to use honey instead of water but I think that dates sweet more than enough and water is healthier)
-Put almonds (whole or shavings) in a ziploc and smash them to the size you prefer put them in a bowl. (you can also use coconut shavings) Dip hands in olive oil and roll dates paste into balls and dip them in the toasted almonds and out them in a clean bowl.
-Refrigerate over night and VOILA!
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References:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-35-45-00
www.livestrong.com
