Pistachio and Coconut Stuffed Dates
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One of my favorite new food blogs is Cassie's Back to Her Roots. Her focus is on healthy cooking and living, but she doesn't go overboard with it. As she says, "Now I understand that kale, birthday cake, rest days, flax seeds, strenuous hikes and good beer can all be healthy." Cassie doesn't forgo all the pleasure of good food in favor of a smaller pant size. Instead, she takes a holistic approach - good food (some hardcore healthy meals, some a little more decadent, but all made with good wholesome ingredients), lots of enjoyable physical activity, and a commitment to self care.
I swear, every time I read one of her posts, I feel better about life.
Besides that, she's just smart in the kitchen. Her salads in a jar are genius, and her Sunday food prep regime has me spending a little extra time preparing on the weekends and being so glad for it during the busy week.
A couple weekends ago, I tried my hand at one of her recipes, and it was a huge success.
In preparation for a potluck, I made her stuffed dates and dipped one end in chocolate, a little added excitement that she mentioned in the brilliant post about how she preps food for the week.
They were a huge hit. I had none to take home, and several people specifically sought me out to tell me how delicious they were. Potluck score.
I followed Cassie's pistachio and coconut stuffed dates recipe completely. And after they were all stuffed, I melted chocolate chips in a bowl in the microwave, dipped one end of the dates in and then let them cool on some parchment paper in the fridge. (We use Sunspire grain-sweetened chocolate chips, which we buy in the bulk section of our local health food store.)
The bad news was that I discovered I'm allergic to pistachios. Major fail. I developed a cashew allergy as an adult that's gotten progressively worse in the last few years. And now pistachios are also on the no-eat list. What a shame. I'd forgotten how delicious they are.
I'll have to come up with another version - maybe with pecans...
