I plowed my way through the Peanut Butter, Date, & Oat Bites in no time, and reveled in each ball of sweet, dense deliciousness. I loved the portable and filling bites so much that I couldn’t help but whip up another batch… this time featuring a tropical flavor profile.

The flavor of these tasty little bites is reminiscent of my Tropical Granola, as I used the same mix of dried fruit. The cashew butter I used for this recipe is the brainchild of Ashley from The Edible Perspective, and it so lusciously thick and creamy that I had to restrain myself from eating it by the spoonful.

The smooth cashew butter is studded with chewy bits of dried banana, mango, pineapple, and coconut, as well as wholesome rolled oats. The pale-hued mixture is rolled into two-bite-sized balls, which can be dusted with additional coconut if you so desire.

Pure dried fruit sans added sugar and preservatives can be difficult to find, but are worth the search. I found all of the unsweetened & unsulfured dried fruit (except for the coconut flakes, which I picked up at Whole Foods) for this recipe at Trader Joe’s – each in its own packaging. If there’s any doubt, just sneak a peak at the nutrition label. The ONLY ingredient should be dried ____ [mango, banana, pineapple etc.].

As with the Peanut Butter, Date, & Oat Bites, these Tropical Dried Fruit & Cashew Bites are simple to prepare, easy to stash in a lunch bag or purse, full of healthy ingredients, and of course delicious to eat.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup store-bought or homemade cashew butter
• 1/2 cup chopped mixed dried tropical fruit, such as banana, mango, pineapple, and coconut, preferably unsweetened & unsulfured
• 1/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
• extra coconut ships for rolling, optional

Directions

Stuffed dates are an easy but impressive hors d’oeuvre that transcend seasonality. Equally well-suited for an elegant winter dinner party or a backyard summer BBQ, these two-bite delicacies balance sweet, salty, and tangy flavors as well as chewy, creamy, and crunchy textures.

I decided to make two varieties of stuffed dates for a 4th of July get-together with our friends at their lake house. Half of the dates were stuffed with a goat cheese-neufchatel mixture and studded with whole toasted almonds:

…and the remaining dates were filled with a blue cheese-neufchatel blend and topped with toasted walnut pieces:

Both varieties of stuffed dates taste like sheer heaven. The mild neufchatel cream cheese helps to balance out the piquant flavors of the goat cheese and blue cheese, making the filling more pleasing to a range of palates. Lightly toasting the almonds and walnuts brings out their rich nuttiness, and the added crunch is a nice textural contrast to the soft dates and creamy cheese.

If you have yet to try Medjool dates, I urge you to seek them out at your grocery store. I buy them at Trader Joe’s, but they are also sold at Whole Foods and are becoming increasingly available at large chain grocery stores.

Ingredients

• 14 large soft Medjool dates, sliced lengthwise halfway through & pitted
• 1 oz goat cheese, at room temperature
• 1 oz reduced fat blue cheese (such as Stella), at room temperature
• 2 oz neufchatel, (1/3-less-fat cream cheese), divided, at room temperature
• 14 whole almonds
• about 2 Tbsp walnut pieces

Directions

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving (Sweet Stuffed Dates)

• Calories: 120 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 22 g
• Sugars: 20 g
• Protein: 2 g
• Fat: 4 g
• Saturated Fat: 1.5 g
• Fiber: 2 g
• Sodium: 50 mg

If you read my post on Flourless White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies, you are well aware of my loyalty to the Peanut Butter and Co. product line. I’ve never tried a peanut butter from that company that I didn’t absolutely love, so it hadn’t crossed my mind to seek out other brands. That is, until a couple of weeks ago when I discovered Saratoga Peanut Butter Company. My interest was immediately piqued upon browsing through the wide variety of delicious-sounding peanut butters on their website. Here’s a sampling: Blizzard Butter, a creamy white chocolate peanut butter; Chillin’ Chocolate, a peanut butter infused with dark chocolate; New York Maple made with local syrup; Monkey Boy featuring bananas and raisins; and Adirondack Jack, a peanut-and-almond butter hybrid studded with dried cranberries, flaxseeds & sunflower seeds, and sweetened with honey & cinnamon.

As if those descriptions weren’t enough to get me excited about Saratoga Peanut Butter, the background story of the company certainly was.  The company commenced in the kitchen of owner Jessica Arceri, a single mother who longed to feed her son healthy peanut butter. In Jessica’s words, “We make all the pb in small batches on a weekly basis to ensure freshness and quality.  I do not believe in adding any unnecessary ingredients and keep all the recipes simple and healthy…and delicious of course!”

I was fortunate enough to receive a package from Jessica the other day, which I immediately tore into and found a jar each of the previously mentioned Blizzard Butter and Adirondack Jack. I wasted no time sampling both nut butters, both of which lived up to my high expectations. The white chocolate Blizzard Butter is similar to – but a smidgen less sweet than – my beloved PB & Co. White Chocolate Wonderful (per 2 Tbsp serving, the Saratoga version has 4 grams of sugars, whereas the PB & Co. version has 7 grams).  Blizzard Butter is a tad bit grainier than White Chocolate Wonderful, which gives it more of a homemade consistency. Look for a blondie recipe featuring this delectable peanut butter on Healthy Food For Living soon!

Ok, now we’re finally getting to those Trail Mix Granola Bars you’re probably wondering about. Upon tasting the Adirondack Jack I instantly thought of trail mix, perhaps because the name reminded me of mountain hiking or maybe because some of my favorite trail mix (or as my pseudo-ex-hippie parents would call it, gorp) ingredients made their way into this nutrient-packed nut butter. I’ve been meaning to make another version of my Cherries & Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars, and it didn’t take me long to decide on this trail mix version.

Soft and chewy, these granola bars are a great on-the-go snack. I’ve also been enjoying them crumbled on top of Greek yogurt or cold cereal. As is noted following the recipe, I suggest a) chopping the dried fruit and b) baking the bars in an 8 x 8 inch square pan in order to yield granola bars that hold together well. The bars photographed here were a bit crumbly, but that could easily be remedied by following the noted tips.

Ingredients

• canola oil cooking spray
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 Tbsp brown rice syrup (alternately, you could use the equivalent amount of honey, agave nectar, or  pure maple syrup)
• 1/4 cup natural nut butter, (I used Saratoga Peanut Butter Company Adirondack Jack), at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 cup puffed brown rice cereal
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup unsweetened & unsulfured dried fruit, such as cherries or cranberries*
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts and/or seeds, (I used 1/4 cup chopped almonds + 1/4 cup sunflower seeds)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Line an 8 x 8 inch square baking pan (or a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan for thicker bars)** with parchment paper so the sides hang over the edge of the pan. Lightly coat with canola oil cooking spray; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the applesauce, liquid sweetener of your choice, nut butter, and vanilla extract; stir until the mixture is completely homogenous.

Fold in the rolled oats, puffed rice cereal, salt, cinnamon, dried fruit, and nuts and/or seeds. Spoon batter into the prepared pan, spreading into an even layer, and bake until lightly golden brown, about 20 minutes (add about 5 additional minutes of baking time if you’re using a loaf pan).

Allow to cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then remove by picking up the sides of the parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before cutting into bars.

*If using dried fruit that comes in larger pieces, such as cherries, I suggest roughly chopping them before adding to the batter.

**Having made two batches of these granola bars, one in an 8 x 8 inch pan and the other in a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan, I can say that the bars hold together better when baked in the 8 x 8 square pan. Although I like the traditional rectangular shape of the bars from the 9 x 5 loaf pan, their thickness made them a bit more crumbly.

Estimated Nutrition Per Serving

• Calories: 320 kcal
• Carbohydrates: 45g
• Protein: 4g
• Fat: 14g
• Saturated Fat: 7g
• Cholesterol: 35mg
• Sodium: 220mg
• Fiber: 2g
• Sugars: 20g