Coconut Almond Date Balls

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Peter and I have taken a few road trips lately – for example, this trip to Nashville where I’m pretty sure Peter secretly decided to erase all my “Wait, Wait” podcasts and replace them with board game- and economics-related podcasts (and if you’re thinking, “hey, that doesn’t sound too bad!”, then you haven’t heard these shows). Since I work mostly from home, I’ve been able to share driving duties with Peter to some of his conferences. Because there’s nothing like driving alone for six hours between cornfields to make even the awesomest conference feel as painful as discovering your favorite blender is on the fritz.

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To nourish us on the road, I usually pack fruits and veggies, along with some nuts and a few granola bars. Tasty, but a bit boring after several baggie-fulls. That’s why I used this month’s Recipe Redux topic to shake things up.

Sometimes, the food is the best part of the journey. Be it business travel or a road trip for pleasure, share your favorite travel snacks/mini meals. Do you pack a special treat for the road to eat in the car or at rest stops? Or do you have a tried & true snack that makes it safely through airport security? Share your healthy recipe for road trip nourishment.

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I’ve been meaning to try a date-based portable snack for a while (a.k.a. a bunch of wholesome ingredients in one tasty bite). I threw together these coconut almond date balls with ingredients I had on hand. Feel free to substitute some of your favorite flavors. Cocoa hazelnut date balls, anyone?

A few more close-ups, because I’m totally showing off how gorgeous they are:

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I can’t wait until our next road trip – I know I’ll be nibbling on these when I need some tasty nourishment.

date balls

Coconut Almond Date Balls

  Prep Time: 10 minutes

  Keywords: raw snack vegan coconut almonds dates

Ingredients (20 balls)

  • 2 cups pitted dates
  • ¼ cup water
  • 2/3 cup raw rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup coconut flakes
  • ½ cup raw almonds, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon chia seeds
  • Optional coating: ½ cup coconut flakes or ¼ cup crushed almonds

Instructions

Place dates and water in blender or food processer and blend until smooth. Alternatively, chop dates into tiny pieces and mix with water, smooshing dates pieces against side of bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Shape mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in coconut flakes or crushed almonds. Enjoy immediately, or refrigerate/freeze for later.

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Q: What’s your favorite travel snack?

14 Comments

  1. These coconut almond date balls look delicious! I love the use of simple, minimal ingredients and your photos are spectacular. I will be giving these a try. Keep up the great work!

  2. Oh I love dates. I will definitely be making these once I have a functioning blender again!

  3. These look yummy! I always try to make some kind of snack like this for the week. Lots of macaroons and energy balls 🙂 coconut is my fav

  4. These look delicious! I am currently interning for the Meal Makeover Moms and we all agree we need to try these soon! I love the combination of ingredients and I can tell these would be great to bring on a long car/train ride. I look forward to seeing more of your recipes.

    1. Thanks so much! 🙂

  5. I love larabars when I travel so clearly I’d love these! And I also ADORE Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me. We listen to it all the time. Thank you for sharing Jessie. These look so very good! Now I just need a road trip to go on!

  6. I’ve been on the lookout for a kid-friendly no-bake dessert like this one. Great post .. plus I adore the photos 🙂

  7. What a great recipe! Thanks for sharing! I think these would be great to pack for a road trip.

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