For most of my life, I would have told you I don’t like mixing chocolate with fruit flavors. Where this notion started, I have no idea. I just know I wrote off enjoying chocolate and fruit together early on and never revisited it.
And then one day I was pondering how to indulge in chocolate healthfully. The starter recipe to these chocolate bites didn’t have orange zest or ginger in it. While it was fine that way, the recipe needed something more to make it sing. For the first time ever, I mixed in fruit with my chocolate.
And while it seems trivial, that opened up a whole new world of treats to me that I previously wouldn’t even entertain the idea of eating. Chocolate-covered strawberries—glad they’re in my life. Chocolate chip cherry cookies—hell, yeah! Frozen chocolate bananas—hello!
So, if you like fruit and chocolate together, I think you’ll enjoy this healthy snack recipe. And if you don’t, I recommend giving it a go anyway. Who knows what it will open up for you?!
Chocolate Orange Walnut Bites
(Gluten-free; Dairy-free; 100% Plant-based/Vegan; No refined sugars)
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups walnuts
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup pitted and chopped Medjool dates
1/3 cup cocoa powder (if you can find it, Black Onyx Cocoa Powder is a nice treat)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon grated ginger (or 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger)
Instructions:
Grind walnuts and salt in a food processor until finely ground with a bit of crumb. Add the dates, cocoa powder, vanilla, orange zest and ginger and grind until all ingredients are incorporated evenly. Using a spoon and your hands, form and roll into compact balls, about 2-3 bites each. Store in the refrigerator until right before eating as the bites may crumble when outside of the fridge for too long. If traveling with them, wrap in aluminum foil to hold their shape.