I’m in week 38 in my pregnancy and eating 6 dates a day to help shorten the first stage of labor and soften the cervix before delivery. From my favorite date smoothie, to adding them to my yogurt, I realized I needed a bit more inspiration in order to keep up with the 6 dates a day (since 36 weeks)! That is how I came up with a remix of my favorite peanut butter cup candy.

Dates tend to get a bad rep too because they are so sweet, but the high fiber and additional mix of the fat in peanut butter and protein in the hemp seeds helps to lower the glycemic index on our delicious chocolatey treat.

Ingredients

• Dates (I love Joolies Ugglies, they are the best dates I’ve ever had and the “ugglies” make them very affordable).
• Organic peanut butter
• Chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life, free from allergens).
• Coconut Oil or MCT Oil
• Hemp seeds
• Sea salt

Make a slice in each date (do not cut fully in half) and pull out the seed. I save my seeds to later roast and make date coffee! Place dates in a parchment paper lined plate. Scoop about 1 tsp of peanut butter (or nut butter of choice) into the middle of the date. Place date stuffed peanut butter in refridgerator for 30 minutes. When the peanut butter hardens a bit (this makes it easier for the melted chocolte topping), pull out fridge and make melted chocolate topping.

To make melted chocolate topping mix about 1/3 cups of chocolate chips with 1 tsp of coconut oil. Melt in the microwave at 15 second intervals, mixing in between to make sure chocolate does not burn. Once chocolate is fully melted, spoon 1-2 tsp on top of stuffed dates. For my chocolate lovers you can also place stuffed dates into bowl of melted chocolate to fully submerge.

Sprinkle hemp seeds on top and sea salt to taste.

Place in refrigerator for 1-2 hours, until melted chocolate hardens, and enjoy!