Date, Cherry, Almond and Chocolate Protein Bites

Have you been to a restaurant or cafe lately and noticed cute little protein bites for sale? They're all the rage these days and I know I am a bit behind the times in posting this recipe. What I have noticed in particular is that the price of these protein bites is ridiculous. I am not claiming to never have purchased said bites. But when I have purchased them I have been immediately embarrassed that I paid THAT much for a tiny bite of dried fruit and nuts, especially since I know full well how easy it is to make these things.

The combination I am sharing with you here is the perfect melange of chewy fruit and crunchy nuts, and of course, chocolate. I even threw in some protein powder to make them a perfect post-workout snack. The best part about this recipe is that you throw everything in the food processor and a few minutes later, they're ready.

At the end of this post, I will also give you some ideas for other combinations. It's really easy to fool around with this recipe and get the exact flavour you are craving. 

Here is the recipe. I made it up so I don't have to give anyone else any credit at all ;-)

Ingredients

1 cup roasted, unsalted almonds
3 large dates, pitted
1/2 cup dried cherries
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
2 tsp chia seeds (you can leave these out if you don't like to pick them out of your teeth after eating)
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp unflavoured protein powder (I use vegan protein powder)
1/4 tsp salt

Method

Place the almonds in the food processor and process until it looks almost like almond butter. This will give you a smoother ball.

Ensure there are no pits in the dates by slicing them open with a sharp knife. If you see a pit, remove it. Toss the dates and the rest of the ingredients into the food processor with the almost almond butter. Turn that sucker on and process for a couple of minutes.

Check the mixture. If you can pinch some together in your fingers and it sticks, it's ready.

I use a 1 tbsp measuring spoon to ensure my bites are all the same size.

Roll the measured mixture into a ball in the palm of your hands. 

Keep rolling - my yield is generally 18-20 balls. Today I got 19 (but you don't see the total in this photo because I ate some - quality control!). These are approximately 80 calories each.

Deeeee-licious.

My other fave combo is as follows:

3/4 cup roasted unsalted almonds
1/4 cup walnuts
1 cup pitted dates
1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut
1 1/2 tbsp protein powder (unflavoured)
1/4 tsp salt

Use the same method to mix it up. These are approximately 85 calories each.

Some other flavor combos you can try:

1. Dates, coconut, matcha, almond butter
2. Natural peanut butter, oats, coconut, ground flax seeds, dried cherries, raw sunflower seeds, honey, chia seeds, vanilla (tastes like pb&j)
3. Almond butter, hemp hearts, coconut, crispy brown rice, spiraling, mama, maple syrup, sea salt
4. Dates, dried apricots, chia seeds, ground flax, raw pumpkin seeds, cinnamon, white chocolate

Enjoy! And be sure to let me know about your favourite combination.

Snack Bars - Sugar Free!

Full disclosure - this recipe is from someone else's blog. Here is the original link: http://www.superhealthykids.com/blog-posts/healthy-no-bake-snack-bars.php

I am attempting to go sugar-free for a month. Today is Day 5. My friends have been kind enough to send me some recipes to help get me through the hard times and this is the first one I received. I made these last night and they are very yummy. I know those of you with kids are wondering if your kids will eat these - mine tried them. Sam said it wasn't terrible. Noah spit it out. There you go.

I don't have a big, long, rambling story to tell here, so I'm going to get right to the recipe!

Ingredients

2 cups pitted dates
3/4 cup raw cashews
1/4 cup nut butter (You have to use homemade or natural nut butter to ensure there is no sugar in there. Here is the link to my homemade peanut butter: http://richlerrecipes.blogspot.com/2014/05/homemade-peanut-butter.html)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 pinch of salt

Method

Put everything in a food processor and mix it up until the mixture forms a ball. I put everything in except the nuts for the first few spins because I wanted the nut pieces to be a bit bigger. So after three or four pulses of the processor I removed the lid and added the cashews into the mix. This is what the mix looks like when it starts to form a ball in the processor.

Pour the mix into an 8 inch by 8 inch square pan

Press down firmly. Cover the pan and put it in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

Cut into bars or squares and serve! Make sure to store your squares in the fridge in an air tight container. They won't last long!

P.S. the original blog suggests using parchment paper in the pan, but I didn't have any and they turned out just fine.

Lime Coconut Squares

Hi There! It's been a while, I know. I just returned from an evening work event and the King of Soup and our progeny are out at a Marlies game - what better time to plop myself in front of the computer to crank out a few posts I've been meaning to get to.

In the summer of 2012, the King of Soup's sister got hitched to a really awesome dude that we are proud to call brother. Since that time, we've been waiting patiently for offspring. While we were waiting, the King's brother and his beautiful wife produced a perfect little one so that kept the pressure off the sister for a few months. As we were basking in the glory of being Auntie and Uncle (and Cousins) to the beautiful one, an amazing announcement was made - that there would soon be another one joining the party! That day is soon upon us and we are all very busy getting ready and excited for this day. Several weeks ago, my Mothers-in-Law hosted a lovely baby shower for the King's sister, and the King's Mother baked these very excellent Lime Coconut Squares. I have made them twice since then and now I have to stop because every time I make them, I eat them.

I came late to the lime-is-awesome-in-dessert party, having had a deep relationship with chocolate for quite some time. With regard to citrus, I always knew about Lemon Meringue Pie but was never a fan. Later, I discovered lemon could be made into many pleasing desserts (like Lemon Squares, Lemon Ice Cream, Lemon Pound Cake), and realized there was more to life than cocoa. I was first introduced to lime with Key Lime Pie in the late 90s at a pot luck lunch. My friend Paula made the pie and of course, I tried it because that's what you do at pot luck lunches. It was to die for. I requested the recipe and have been making it at least once a year ever since.

These squares take it up a notch due to my Mother in Law's brilliant adaptation of the recipe, which is to use ginger snaps instead of graham cracker crumbs in the crust. The recipe also calls for coconut, and anything with coconut and lime together is A-OK in my books.

For my version I decided to use half graham cracker crumbs and half ginger snap crumbs for the crust, because I do love graham crackers and didn't want to leave them out entirely. I think that using all ginger snaps provides a little more kick, but both versions were delicious, and I am sure that using all graham crackers would also be yummy. For next time, I might even add some fresh ginger into the crust. Just sayin'.

Without further ado, here is the recipe. My adaptations are in brackets, as always. The original source for this recipe is Canadian Living Magazine, and I thank my MiL for sharing it with me.

Ingredients:

CRUST
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (I used half graham cracker crumbs and half ginger snap crumbs, or you can use all ginger snap crumbs)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted
1/4 cup sugar (I cut this back to 1/8 cup, or half of a 1/4 cup measure)
1/3 cup butter, melted

CURD FILLING
1 can sweetened condensed milk (I used the "light" version - and take note, this stuff has an expiry date so make sure to check your can before pouring)
4 egg yolks
2 tbsp grated lime zest
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice

Method:

To make the graham cracker/ginger snap crumbs, use a food processor and spin until crackers/cookies are finely ground.

In the photo above you can see the layer of ginger snaps on the bottom and the graham crackers on top of that.

To toast the coconut, place it into a frying pan and put the burner on medium heat. Watch it carefully as it will burn before you know it.

In a bowl, stir together the crumbs, coconut, sugar and butter.

Press the mixture into a parchment-lined 8 inch square pan.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes and let cool on a rack.

While this is baking, zest and juice your limes. I think I used about 10 of them.

Then whisk together the sweetened condensed milk and the egg yolks. Add the lime zest and lime juice.

Pour into the baked crust.

Return it to the oven (still at 350 degrees F) and bake it for about 15 minutes, or until the edges are set and the centre still jiggles a little. Let cool completely on the rack.

Then put into the fridge for a full 12 hours. This way you will get a clean cut when you cut the squares.

These squares will keep in the fridge in an airtight container for a week. But who's kidding who? They won't last a day!

Makes 36 small squares and according to the Canadian Living site, each square is 83 calories, has 10 g of carbs, 2 g of protein, 5 g of fat, and 8 g of sugar. Remember that these counts are if you follow the original recipe to the letter. The site has a neat calculator so you can enter in the actual number of squares you got and see the calculation change. Here is the link: http://www.canadianliving.com/food/baking_and_desserts/lime_coconut_squares.php

Enjoy!