These superfoods fruit & nut bites are a fun and healthy gift you can give for the holidays. Only a few minutes to make and lots of combinations to try.
You might also like these 3 ingredients brownie bites.
I make these all the time for myself. Usually just the cacao ones because hey, I love chocolate. However I remembered along time ago seeing a similar recipe in a magazine using dried fruits and I thought I’d use superfoods to make them extra special.
So today I bring you my superfoods fruit & nut bites for our Sunday Supper Holiday Food Gifts event. Even if you could care less about the healthy aspect of this recipe, you will still love these. And as a bonus they only take a few ingredients and minutes to make. Plus you can make a million combinations.
fruit & nut bites Recipe
The basic ratio is 1:1 nuts to dried fruit. My basic recipe below is for dates and walnuts. I like walnuts because they breakdown better than other nuts and dates are just very sweet.
When you put both in a food processor you come up with dough like the ones below and then just roll them into balls and then in a topping. Store them in the refrigerator or freezer. Left to right and top to bottom, we have coconut walnut, goji walnut, cacao date walnut and pistachio date.
Superfoods I used
These are the superfoods I chose today:
- goji berries (antioxidants & anti-inflammatory)
- unsweetened coconut flakes (antibacterial, antiviral)
- cacao (antioxidants, magnesium & calcium)
- walnuts (antioxidants, heart & brain health)
- pistachios (antioxidants, heart health)
- dates (high fiber, easily digested)
- matcha green tea (high antioxidants, calming energy).
Recipe Tips & Notes
While these are sweet, they are not overly sweet. I would taste each dough and add a bit of sweetener if you like. For instance I added a bit of liquid vanilla stevia to the coconut ones and my husband liked them the best.
I personally loved the goji berries. They were a bit tart but sweet.
Here’s a tip for the dried fruit. Soak them for a few minutes in hot water and drain before processing. This will soften them and make the processing smoother.
Also do the nuts first. You want the consistency to be sticky and crumbly. If you go too far it will liquify and turn to a nut butter. Below is the recipes for my 4 combinations but you can really use any nut and fruit combination that you like.
Superfoods Fruit & Nut Bites
Here is the finished product. The red ones are goji berries and walnuts rolled in coconut flakes. The green are pistachios and dates rolled in matcha green tea. The brown are walnuts, cacao and dates, rolled in cacao powder. And finally we have the walnut and coconut bites rolled in coconut.
I hope you like these healthy treats. Thank you Christie from A Kitchen Hoors Adventures for hosting this week and please scroll down for more recipes. Enjoy!
Superfoods Holiday Bites
Ingredients
- 1/4 coconut flakes, unsweetened
- 1/2 cup dates
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 2 tablespoons cacao powder + extra to roll in
- 1/2 cup pistachios kernels
- 1/2 cup dates
- 2 tablespoons matcha green tea
- 2 tablespoons Swerve sweetener, or sugar
- 1/2 walnuts
- 1/2 cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
- 15 drops liquid vanilla stevia
- 1/2 cup goji berries
- 1/2 cup walnuts
Instructions
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Cacao Bites:
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Take 1/2 cup of pitted dates and soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes until soft. In the meantime take 1/2 cup of walnuts and add to a food processor.Process until the walnuts are fine and sticky. If you over process they will turn into a nut butter.
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Add 2 tablespoons of cacao powder and pulse to mix.
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Drain the dates and add to the food processor and pulse until a sticky dough forms.
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Make balls out of the dough and roll in extra cacao powder and refrigerate.
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Pistachio Matcha Bites
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Take 1/2 cup of pitted dates and soak them in hot water for about 5 minutes until soft. In the meantime take 1/2 cup of pistachios and add to a food processor.Process until the pistachios are ground and a bit stickysticky. If you over process they will turn into a nut butter.
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Drain the dates and add to the food processor and pulse until a sticky dough forms.
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In a small bowl add the matcha green tea and Swerve sweetener.
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Make balls out of the dough and roll in the matcha green tea powder and refrigerate.
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Coconut Bites
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Add 1/4 cup of coconut flakes and process in a food processor. Dump into a bowl and set aside for rolling in.
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Add the 1/2 cup coconut to the food processor and grind until fine.
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Add the walnuts and liquid stevia and process until a crumbly dough forms. If it seems to crumbly to form into balls, add a few drops of water.
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Form into balls and roll in the excess coconut flakes. Refrigerate or freeze.
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Goji Berry Bites
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Add hot water to the goji berries and soak for 5 minutes.
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In the meantime take 1/2 cup of walnuts and add to a food processor.Process until the walnuts are fine and sticky. If you over process they will turn into a nut butter.
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Drain the goji berries and add to the food processor and pulse until a sticky dough forms.
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Make balls out of the dough and roll in ground coconut and refrigerate.
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***Please Note*** Taste each dough and add addition sweetener or sugar if would like a sweeter product. The dates are pretty sweet but to some they may not be sweet enough.
Michelle Ferrand
All of the combos you suggested sound great! I think that giving food as a gift during the holidays is a wonderful idea too!
Erin
These look great! And we can always use something healthy to balance out the cookies.
Denise
Isn’t that the truth!
Eileen
I love how versatile this recipe is. It’s good to keep some healthier snacks around during the holidays.
Monica
These are the perfect gift for many of my friends. We’re in that phase of trying to loose a few pounds or at least hold steady for the season. I’m a big fan of snacks with low sugar that have enough protein to stave off hunger….
Denise
Thanks Monica, sometimes it’s nice to have something a little more simple and healthy among all the super sweet goodies during the holidays.
Liz
I want the coconut walnut bites!!! LOVE these.
Denise
They were my husband’s favorites too!
Cindy
Great idea and so colorful too!
Denise
Yes I have to admit I’m a sucker for colorful things!
Hezzi-D
What a great idea! I love how festive they look!
Denise
Thank yoU!
Laura Dembowski
These sound insanely good! Always nice to have a healthier treat around.
Denise
Yes I’m trying this year to be more healthy.
Caroline
I love how colorful these are and being not too sweet is perfect for my tastes too.
Denise
Thanks Caroline!
Christie
I love these little bites of healthy for the holidays! They look delicious and the perfect gift!
Denise
Thanks Christie!