chocolate + almond butter + banana bites | cacao crunch

Recently, the best place to find me would be standing in front of my refrigerator with a spoon in a jar of almond butter. This is new to me. I've officially crossed over to the dark side. Please tell me you've been there too. 

This love for almond butter crept up on me slowly until it became a full-blown obsession. Now, my day is not complete without a scoop of almond or peanut butter in my mouth. 

I've been trying to come up with different ways to feed my all my AB/PB cravings. I'll have a scoop of it over some banana after a workout, I smear it over some apples for a mid-day snack, I make it in a smoothie with cacao and mint and have it for breakfast, and I eat it straight out of the jar .... oh sorry, I've already mentioned that. 

 

I've been trying to come up with another way that I can devour my favorite treat, and I decided I wanted something that incorporated not just almond butter, but my favorite things to eat with my almond butter. 

I thought about dipping bananas into some sort of almond butter chocolate concoction, then I thought, sure that would be great, but how often am I going to make that. Then, the light bulb went off. I can just blend everything together and make fun little bite sized snack things. Simple. Easy. Yes! 

You know what is awesome about these bites? I can eat them for breakfast and I pretend like I am being really bad, but actually I am being really really good. Give me one of these little bites over a muffin any day of the week. In fact, give me 7. These also make awesome snacks, as well as dessert that you can bring over to a friend's house. Loaded with vitamins and antioxidants, this could be one of the healthiest and tastiest little bites you will ever put in your mouth. 

Be sure to adjust any ingredients depending on the amount that you are going to eat out of the jar/blender. 

chocolate + almond butter + banana bites with a cacao crunch

Makes
12-16 bites

Ingredients

for the bites:
1 cup of almonds
1 banana
1 date, pitted and diced
1 tablespoon of cacao powder
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon of almond butter
a pinch of salt

for the cacao crunch:
1/4 cup of almonds
1/4 cup of cacao nibs
a pinch or two of salt (himalayan pink sea salt is best)
a pinch or two of cayenne (optional)

Method 

• Place 1 cup of almonds into a food processor or high powered blender (Vitamix) and pulse several times until they are finely ground. 
• Then, add the rest of the ingredients for the bites into the blender and blend until you have a thick paste. You might have to scrape down the sides and stir a few times. 
• When your mixture is blended through, form the bites by rolling about a tablespoon amount between the palms of your hands and then place them on a plate or a small baking sheet. Do this until all of the bites are formed and then place them in the freeze for 30-45 minutes. 
• While the bites are firming up in the freezer, make the cacao crunch. Place all of the ingredients into the same (cleaned) food processor or blender and pulse several times until you have a fine, but slightly chunky texture. 
• Remove the bites from the freezer to roll them in the crunch mixture. Place the crunch mixture onto a plate. You might to give the bites another quick roll between your palms to make them nice and round, then roll them around on the plate with the crunch mixture. Do this until they are all coated. Place them back in the freezer for about an hour, or until you are ready to enjoy. 
• If you plan on storing them in the freezer for a longer than a day, transfer them to an air-tight container. They should keep for a couple of weeks in the freezer. You might want them to sit out for about 10 minutes before serving depending on how cold / firm you like them.