Peanut Butter & Chocolate Superfood Bites

For the last couple of weeks I've been really into making all sorts of varieties of superfood date balls. They're quick, easy, convenient, and leave very little clean up. These superfood bites are sweet, peanut buttery, and have the perfect crunch - creamy peanut butter, soft caramel-y dates, and crunchy cacao nibs are a match made in heaven!

Date balls can be loaded with healthy ingredients and superfoods and still taste good! This makes them awesome to keep in your regular recipe rotation. There are so many ways that you can change up the flavour, and you can easily adjust the ingredients to suit your specific needs. I've been really busy trying to improve my blog (and blogging), which means I've spent a lot of time glued to my computer lately. With so much to get done it's easy to let other priorities take over and healthy eating can fall by the wayside. If I keep a big batch of these around at least I have something wholesome, tasty, and energizing to snack on throughout the day.

I've loaded these Peanut Butter & Chocolate Superfood Bites with healthy fats and plant protein so they should do a good job of keeping you feeling satiated between meals. This recipe is a great choice for taking snacks to work or school, and makes really good healthy travelling food too! If you have a roadtrip planned for this summer try bringing along some healthy snacks like these superfood bites. Let's at least try to leave the gas stations to fueling our cars rather than our bodies. Good intentions are important, right?

This recipe is easy, fast, and requires very little clean up. After making them a couple of times, I'm usually in and out of the kitchen in under 20 minutes! They are gluten-free, soy-free, no bake, and refined sugar free. They can easily be made peanut or nut-free using the substitutions at the end of the recipe.

Nutrition Info

dates: High in natural sugars and a good source of fibre and potassium. Dates contain a wide variety of essential nutrients such as protein, magnesium, and zinc. I use Sayer dates, a soft-syrupy date.

almonds: Almonds are an extremely nutrient dense food providing a good source of protein, healthy fats, and fibre and notable amounts of vitamin E, magnesium, calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, and riboflavin.

peanut butter: Choose natural peanut butter that contains "peanuts" as the sole ingredient - it's high in protein (8g per 2 tbsp) and a good source of vitamin E, niacin, vitamin B6, magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese.

coconut oil: Coconut oil contains high levels of lauric acid, a saturated fat that can have positive effects on blood cholesterol levels. The saturated fat in coconut oil is made up of mostly medium-chain-triglycerides which are less damaging than other saturated fats. Coconut oil is likely to have positive health effects on vegans due to their usually low consumption of saturated fats.

chia seeds: Loaded with fibre, protein, and healthy fats with healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Chia seeds are also a good source of calcium, phosphorus, and manganese.

hemp hearts: Packed with high quality protein and a great source of essential fatty acids.

cacao nibs: Rich in anti-aging antioxidants heart healthy flavenoids, cacao has energizing properties and is a great source of iron.

Sources: nutritiondata.self.com and wikipedia.org

Clockwise from top-left: hemp hearts, raw almonds, natural peanut butter, sayer dates, chia seeds, cacao nibs.

Ingredients

• 1 cup soft pitted dates, lightly packed
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2-3 tablespoon peanut butter (add an extra 2 tablespoon almonds)
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• 1-2 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp hemp hearts
• 3 tbsp cacao nibs or chocolate chips

Supplies: food processor, measuring spoons, measuring cups, spatula/wooden spoon, storage container.

Dietary Info: Gluten-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free, no bake, and optionally nut-free.

Directions

Gather and measure all of your ingredients. When measuring out your dates, ensure that they are free of date pits and fragments - pinch each date between your thumb and forefinger individually to feel for pits. (Seriously, do this. Somehow I missed a pit in my last batch and let me tell you, it is not fun to unsuspectingly bite down on a rock hard date pit!!)

In your food processor, pulse almonds until finely and evenly chopped, like coarse sand.

Add the remaining ingredients and continue processing until the "dough"  is thoroughly mixed and begins to form a sticky ball.

The date mixture should be sticky and hold together easily when squeezed in your palm.

Unplug your food processor. Use a tablespoon to scoop spoonfuls of dough, use your hands to squeeze the mixture tightly and then roll them into balls using the palm of your hand. You can roll them into any size you prefer. Bite-sized pieces are good to snack on, but I usually like to make them quite big so that I can just grab a couple of them for an energizing snack.

Once you've rolled out all of the remaining dough, place the finished date balls in the freezer to set for an hour. After an hour, transfer your superfood bites to keep in your fridge. Store for up to 2 weeks.

For best flavour, store PB & Chocolate Superfood Bites in the fridge and serve chilled.

 Substitutions

For a peanut-free version, substitute the peanut butter with almond butter for a delicious chocolate-covered-almond flavor. For a completely nut-free version, substitute the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter, and substitute the 1 cup of almonds with of ⅓ cup sunflower seeds, ⅓ pumpkin seeds, and ⅓ oats - you'll lose the pb & chocolate combo but you'll still have a delicious and energizing snack! If you don't have cacao nibs, substitute with 2-3 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Superfood Bites - a healthy, energizing whole food snack that's sure to satisfy a sweet craving!

PB & Chocolate Superfood Bites

• Author: i love vegan
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Total Time: 5 minutes
• Yield: 16 1x
• Category: snack, dessert
• Cuisine: vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, no-bake

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Description

Quick and easy to make with very little clean-up! These tasty little balls of peanut buttery-chocolatey goodness will keep you buzzing with energy. A perfect little snack for busy days, work, or school.

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Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 cup soft pitted dates, lightly packed
• 1 cup raw almonds
• 2-3 tablespoon peanut butter (add an extra 2 tbsp almonds if using 3 tbsp PB)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1-2 tablespoon chia seeds
• 2 tbsp hemp hearts
• 3 tbsp cacao nibs or 2-3 tablespoon dark chocolate chips

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Instructions

1. Gather and measure all of your ingredients. When measuring out your dates, ensure that they are free of date pits and fragments – pinch each date between your thumb and forefinger individually to feel for pits.
2. In your food processor, pulse almonds until finely and evenly chopped, like coarse sand.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and continue processing until the “dough” is thoroughly mixed and begins to form a sticky ball.
4. The date mixture should be sticky and hold together easily when squeezed in your palm.
5. Unplug your food processor. Use a tablespoon to scoop spoonfuls of dough, use your hands to squeeze the mixture tightly and then roll them into balls using the palm of your hand. You can roll them into any size you prefer. Bite-sized pieces are good to snack on, but I usually like to make them quite big so that I can just grab a couple of them for an energizing snack.
6. Once you’ve rolled out all of the remaining dough, place the finished date balls in the freezer to set for an hour. After an hour, transfer your superfood bites to keep in your fridge. Store for up to 2 weeks.

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Notes

For a peanut-free version, the substitute the peanut butter with almond butter for a delicious chocolate-covered-almond flavor. For a completely nut-free version, substitute the peanut butter with sunflower seed butter, and substitute the 1 cup of almonds with of ⅓ cup sunflower seeds, ⅓ pumpkin seeds, and ⅓ oats – you’ll lose the pb & chocolate combo but you’ll still have a delicious and energizing snack! If you don’t have cacao nibs, substitute with 2-3 tablespoon of dark chocolate chips.

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Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 ball
• Calories: 120
• Sugar: 7.6 g
• Sodium: 13 mg
• Fat: 8 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.8 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 5.4 g
• Carbohydrates: 10.8 g
• Fiber: 2.3 g
• Protein: 2.9 g

Check out how I've been snacking on Superfood Bites via Garden of Vegan!

{1.} Vegan yogurt + superfoods, energy balls, mango, & strawberries.
{2.} Food on the Go: energy balls, fruit salad, Clif bar, and a salad.
{3.} Berry smoothie and energy balls. {4.} Batch of energy balls.
{5.} Food on the Go: banana, energy balls, and a salad.