Energy Date Bites

These are similar to your typical Energy Bars, but with one important difference. The base is made with dates instead of wheat or dough. So I call them Date Bites! This no-bake, no sugar, no preservatives, no oil, and no butter healthy vegan bites taste amazing. They have all the healthy fiber, nutrients, and nuts that you need throughout the day, all in one easy-to-eat bite.

Ingredients: You can click on any of the ingredients and buy them. Please know that I am not recommending these brands, I just want yall to click the link to see what the ingredients look like if you are not familiar with them.

1 cup cashews

1 cup sunflower seeds

1 cup oats

1 cup almonds

1 cup pistachios

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 cup raisins

1 cup walnuts

1 cup dry coconuts

20 Medjool Dates or Date paste

dash of cinnamon

dash of cardamom

I made up this recipe during Ramadan last year (2020). Honestly, I am not a big fan of dates, but it’s what we traditionally open our fast with. For my Muslim bros and sistas reading this, I know how you feel…you think I am not normal because I don’t love dates. Haha trust me I have heard plenty about “try it one more time you will like it.” I really don’t unfortunately, but since this is a staple food during Ramadan and my husband (Adil) loves it, we always have a ton leftover. I started making this recipe so the dates don’t sit there for months and then we end up throwing them away. Have you ever not liked something by itself? But then you mix it with something else and you love it? Dates are that something for me.

Well, regardless of whether you like dates or not, you should try this recipe. Although I got my initial inspiration for these Date Bites during Ramadan, you don’t have to be Muslim or observing fasting during Ramadan to enjoy these. They’re a great healthy snack for anyone to incorporate on busy days to get some quick and healthy energy!

Dates: a specialty during Ramadan because they are high in sugar and nutrients such as B vitamins, vitamin K, calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, and manganese. I mean, basically everything you need is right there. When I was a teen and didn’t want to get up for suhoor (nothing has changed…I still drag sometimes and Adil wakes me up), I would just eat two or three Dates, pray, and knock out before classes and work. During fasting, it’s common to experience low blood sugar, headaches, and lethargy, especially if you don’t eat and drink enough at suhoor. The nutrients found in Dates can help alleviate these symptoms and provide a source of much-needed energy. Dates are also known to help with digestion and can prevent an upset stomach when eating large amounts of food after a long period without eating. AKA…dates are a Ramadan must-have superfood!

Just a side-note – due to the difficulty of fasting, people with health conditions requiring medications, women who are pregnant, or those on their period, are not obligated to fast during Ramadan.

Directions:

Soak 20 Dates overnight in warm water. You want them to be as soft as possible and blend them in a food processor. After grinding the dates into a fine paste, saute the paste for 2 min in the Instant Pot, or on a regular pan until the color slightly changes to a darker brown (like the picture). If you don’t have time to do all that then use backed dates to make it easy.

Almonds: make sure these are skinless almonds. If they are not, soak them overnight and peel off the skin. This is super easy! If the skin doesn’t bother you, then you can use almonds with the skin. I am hella picky and the skin bothers me, so I take it off. Saute the almonds without any oil in the Instant Pot until they change color and are slightly toasted.

Repeat this same process with the oats and cashews. Since these are a bit chunkier, they might burn or toast unevenly. Make sure you don’t burn them! Keep a closer eye on these (it’s easy to burn them…speaking from experience). Now you are a pro! Toss all your dry ingredients (everything other than the date paste) into a pan or Instant Pot together and toast them until it changes color to a light brown.

Side note: Make sure all of these ingredients are unsalted.

Grab all your dry toasted ingredients and grind them, but not into a fine paste. It should look like the picture above…just a little chunky. Now add that mix to the date paste you already made. Add a little pinch of cinnamon and cardamom for taste. Now you can start shaping your creation into a ball in your hand…or get creative and make whatever shape you like! Dates work as a binding paste, so you won’t need ghee, butter, or oil. Now to make it aesthetically pleasing, you can roll the Date Bites in shredded coconut. You can even wrap them in gift boxes and give them to your friends!