I’ve been trying to get back into a healthier routine.  Emotional eating got the best of me…again, and I fell into bad habits.  And what happens when you eat out of boredom, or in my case, out of stress? Then you stress about eating badly and you feel badly, so you eat more to feel better…and… well, you know the deal.
I finally pulled myself out of the ditch.  And boy, it’s amazing how taking care of yourself makes it so much easier to love, not only yourself, but others as well.  Alright, enough of my self-love, analytical spiel… DATES!
It’s not like I didn’t eat dates before — I certainly did, and I always enjoyed them, but I never really thought they could kill a chocolate craving.
I was totally wrong!
I was PMSing and I needed a chocolate fix one morning.  Normally, I would just buy some dark chocolate, but it was early in the morning and I hadn’t even eat breakfast yet.  I took out four dates and decided to stuff them with almonds.  I sliced them open, took the pits out, and put two almonds in each date.  Then I closed them back up.  I remembered I had some dark cocoa powder in the cupboard and a light bulb went off.  I took out a bowl and put a pinch of cocoa powder and a pinch of cinnamon in it.  I mixed it around and then rolled the dates in it!
When I sat down to eat this treat, it was pure decadence – like a little box of chocolates!  If I had some coconut, I surely would have rolled it in that as well.
After I finished eating, my chocolate craving was gone and I didn’t have any sugar crashes afterward.  Here are some other fun ideas with dates:
Stuff with Almond Butter (my sister recommended this one!)
Blend up to make a chocolate sauce
Slice up and put in salads or yogurt
Make energy balls with dates, oats, nuts, salt & coconut oil
How do you like to eat dates?  Please share! 🙂