Spring Snack and Meal Ideas Using Dates
With the official start of spring just days away, Sphinx Date Co. is getting in the spirit and lightening up for the season. It’s time to put away that crock pot and casserole dishes and instead mix up some salads and fire up the grill! During the spring, many people lighten up their meals and start incorporating more seasonal produce and salads. With that in mind, Sphinx Date Co. offers some spring snack and meal ideas that feature dates!
Top it Off — Salads are synonymous with spring. With the crispy crunchy texture and light flavors, salads are delicious for any springtime meal. Consider a piece of grilled fish or chicken atop a bed of greens sprinkled with chopped dates, pepitas and almonds (or any number of garnishes to make each salad one of a kind). Grilled steak with bleu cheese is a hearty way to make salad a main meal, and once again, dates and other add-ons can be sprinkled on top to customize each plate. Chewy dates, creamy crumbles of cheese and crunchy items like nuts, croutons or fried onions straw add not only flavor but additional levels of texture too.
Toss it Up — Granola and trail mix are two healthy and easy items to make for an afternoon snack, a late night treat or a bite to eat on a hike or bike ride. These two snacks are highly customizable, portable and they have a fairly long shelf life. They also don’t need to be refrigerated so they can be taken along in a backpack for a nibble during soccer practice or toted along on a road trip. There is really no right or wrong way to make a batch of trail mix since no baking is involved. So any combination of dried fruit, nuts, oats, seeds, coconut shavings, pretzels, cereal, chocolate chips and more can be tossed together. For an easy granola, toss together oats, raw nuts and seeds of choice, salt, cinnamon (or pumpkin pie spice), melted coconut oil, a drizzle of maple syrup or honey and extract of choice such as vanilla or almond. Once mixed, spread on a prepared baking sheet (parchment paper is a baker’s best friend here) and bake for about 20 to 25 minutes in a preheated 350 degree oven. After baking, let it cool for about an hour, then add dried fruit (like chopped dates, of course!), chocolate chips or any other additional items.
A Nice Twist on Ice Cream — What could be better than enjoying a cold, refreshing ice cream on a warm spring afternoon? Instead of turning to the store bought stuff, why not mix up a batch of “nice cream?” The secret for making a non-dairy nice cream is freezing super-ripe bananas so they can be blended up when the craving for ice cream hits! Adding dates provides an added texture and flavor. But it’s not the only one! Nice cream makers can add strawberries, chocolate chips or any other additional to jazz up their nice cream. Consider making a plain batch with frozen bananas and dates as the base and allowing everyone to add their own toppings for a healthy twist on an old fashioned ice cream bar.
Sphinx Date Co. encourages people to have fun in the kitchen with spring cooking and baking. And of course, remember that versatile dates are not only healthy, they are an easy and delicious way to add flavor to almost any snack or meal!