By Lindsay Oliver

These Strawberry & Cream Cashew Bites are such a great breakfast, snack, or even dessert.  They’re easy, clean, and delicious.  Cashews are high in minerals, fiber, protein and unsaturated fat.  Bonus points: these bites are also vegan and gluten-free.

What I love most about these bites are how long they last.  Because they are not made of anything super perishable, these treats have still tasted great a few weeks after making them.  Dates are the least perishable of any fresh fruit and will remain good for many months when stored properly.  Cashews and freeze-dried strawberries have a similar shelf life.

I store them in the fridge for safe keeping and munch on one or two of them anytime I want a snack or dessert.  They help fill me up, holding me over between meals.  These would be a great pre- or post-workout snack as well.

If you’re having trouble finding raw cashews, you’re not alone.  I have struggled as well.  I normally have success at Harris Teeter (they’ll only have a few and sometimes they’re out), and I recently had success at Neighborhood Walmart for the first time ever.  It’s normally the Planters brand that I find.

Recipe

1 cup raw cashews

8 Medjool dates, pits removed

1/2 cup freeze dried strawberries

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

a pinch of sea salt

Directions

Throw your cashews in a food processor and blend until they are mostly broken down.  You want some small pieces remaining to crunch on.

Add in your dates and blend until you get a sticky mixture.  You can play around with how many dates you add.  I like 8, but you might want one less or one more.

Pour in the salt and vanilla extract and pulse a few times.

Finish it off with your freeze dried strawberries.  Pour them in and pulse until they’re mixed in with a few bigger pieces remaining.

Grab a spoonful of the mixture and make into balls, about 1 inch in diameter.  Should make around a dozen.

Store them in a ziplock bag or Tupperware in the fridge.