Vegan, gluten & nut free chocolate energy bites made with tart cherries and hemp hearts. Full of protein snack on-the-go that tastes like dessert.
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Disclosure: I was asked to participate in the National Cherry Month #GoTart Campaign as a member of the Healthy Aperture Blogger Network. I received free samples of tart cherries mentioned in this post and was compensated for my time. All opinions are my own and I recommend exclusively products that I love, tried myself and are good for your health.
Growing up in Ukraine, we would eat tart cherries all season long. Our neighbours had 3 cherry trees: tart cherries and red + yellow sweet cherries. They were ginormous fruit trees. The apartment building itself was almost 100 years old, so imagine how old were those cherry trees. I literally spent all summers long climbing up fruit trees, getting scratched in the raspberry bushes and crawling on my knees for strawberries. I think that’s why I love fruit so much.
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Anyways, out of 3 kinds of cherries the tarn ones were my favourite! So when I was asked to develop a recipe with Montmorency cherries, I was like “What?! They exist in North America?! Give me more. Sure.”
And they arrived on my doorstep => dried tart cherries rich in vitamin A.
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I was super excited to taste test them as I’ve never tried dried cherries before. And the verdict was: I died. Seriously, tastier than raisins and craisins. Tart cherries have a unique sour-sweet taste that satisfies the growing preference for sour and tart flavors. Yep, finally America’s taste preferences are moving away from sweet. Don’t you think so?!
Kids loved the cherries too. I actually had to hide them from the boys until I was done with the recipe development.
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I’m a huge fan of protein bars & balls, either with protein powder or not. I know some of you find protein powder taste chalky, especially the plant based one, and/or are allergic to nuts.
So I decided to make the energy bites with hemp hearts instead. Those little pale green seeds full of essential fatty acids and proteins.
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Let’s go over the recipe, shall we?!
You add some hemp hearts, coconut oil, dates and cocoa powder to a powerful blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and then add dried tart cherries. I like the creaminess of chocolate combined with the chewiness of tart cherries. I don’t want them blended all together.
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Then you place the “dough” in a freezer for 20 minutes to harden a bit. Using a small scoop drop balls of dough into a bowl with extra hemp hearts and just give a few shakes or rolls.
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You will end up with 15 – 16 vegan & gluten free energy bites that taste like heaven and have no added sugar. I literally had to go back and double check the nutritional values to make sure each bite wasn’t like 20 g of sugar. Nope. And the dried tart cherries…You know how strawberries and chocolate go together?! Now I can say the same about tart cherries plus some sweet and creamy dark chocolate.
Store the bites in an airtight container and whenever you need a protein rich snack (put in a small plastic bag for a snack on-the-go), take it out of the freezer and let thaw for a few minutes.
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Tart cherries are available in dried, frozen and juice forms, which makes it easy to enjoy these super fruits year-round. They can add a burst of bright tartness to dishes – from oatmeal and yogurt parfaits to salads, vegetables and main entrees – along with a nutrient punch. Next time when I’m making my Apple & Pecan Quinoa Salad, I will substitute craisins with some dried tart cherries.
My grandma used to make tart cherry juice and jam. Also sweet kind of pierogies with tart cherries are my absolute fave. She would use fresh or frozen ones.
To learn more about going tart instead, and to find recipes and serving ideas for tart cherries, visit choosecherries.com. And enjoy the energy bites!
Oh, and don’t forget to enter the giveaway below!
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Ingredients
- 1 + 1/2 cup hemp hearts, divided
- 1/4 cup coconut oil, melted
- 1/2 cup warm water + more if necessary
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 10 dates, pitted & coarsely chopped
- Pinch salt
- 3/4 cup dried tart cherries
Directions
- Add 1 cup hemp hearts, coconut oil, water, cocoa powder, dates and salt to a powerful blender or food processor. If using regular blender, soak the dates in warm water for 30 minutes & then drain prior to blending. Process until smooth, scraping the sides with spatula. If necessary, add more water to help the "dough" move around. Transfer to a medium bowl, add dried cherries and mix to combine. Place in a freezer for 20 minutes to harden a bit.
- Using a small scoop, drop balls of "dough" into a bowl with remaining 1/2 cup hemp hearts and using 2 forks or by shaking the bowl, coat the energy bite in hemp seeds. Alternatively, you can coat only the bottom of the ball. Repeat until run out of "dough".
Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 15
Amount Per Serving = 1 energy bite:
Calories: 151.8
Total Fat: 10.2 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 3.9 mg
Total Carbs: 11.2 g
Sugars: 8.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.8 g
Protein: 5.3 g
WW Points+: 4
And now onto the Giveaway. Enter for your chance to win a Taste Giveaway Prize Pack (a $1500 value), which includes:
- KitchenAid Mixer
- Le Creuset Dutch Oven
- Tart Cherries (dried and juice) for a year
- Anthropologie Apron.