This recipe tastes as good as a candy bar, and will still make your body feel good after. It can be tailored to fit almost any food sensitivity need – as long as dates are tolerated and are one of my favorite snacks to take on road trips. This little date bite contains carbs, protein, fat, and fiber – all things you need to feel satisfied and satiated after snacking.
What you will need:
1 cup of pitted dates
½ cup of sunflower butter
¼ cup of maple syrup
1 cup of gluten-free oats
1/3 cup dairy-free chocolate chips
1 tsp cinnamon
Health benefits of cinnamon
Cinnamon is one of my favorite spices. It has been shown to help improve insulin resistance and be an inflammation buster. Since my kids love cinnamon and I use it pretty often in cooking and baking, I choose the Ceylon type of cinnamon. Ceylon cinnamon contains less of the toxin coumarin than the more common type of cinnamon Cassia. Coumarin has been potentially linked to liver problems and damage, cognitive development issues, and potential cancer in animal and human studies. Find my favorite brand of Ceylon cinnamon here.
Nut-free Butter
Sunflower butter is a great nut-free alternative and safe for schools/daycare etc. However, any nut or seed butter will work for this recipe. Sunflower butter is a great source of Vitamin E (approx 40% of your daily need) and unlike some peanut butter, it contains no trans-fat. Vitamin E is a powerful antioxidant that helps rid your body of free radicals and oxidative stress. Vitamin E may even be helpful to decrease the aging process of your cells. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble vitamin, so you want to make sure that if you are supplementing with Vitamin E, you aren’t overdoing it. Find my go-to sunflower butter here.
6 Ingredient Chocolate Cinnamon Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup pitted dates
- 1/2 cup sunflower butter
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup gluten-free oats
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
Directions
- Step 1 Add dates to a food processor. Process until smooth texture. Add all other ingredients to food processor and blend well
- Step 2 Mold into 1 -2 inch balls using your hands.
- Step 3 Store up to 1 week in the fridge in an air tight container, lined with parchment paper/wax paper to prevent sticking.
