Gourmet Vegan Test Kitchen’s Almond Butter Stuffed Dates

These almond butter-stuffed dates are pretty magical – transformative as a natural sweetener but in their simpler form, they can really steal the show. In this recipe, the combination of almond butter, dates, hemp and chocolate takes on a caramel-like flavour. The snack is super easy to make and incredibly delicious. You can make it beforehand and put it in your bag to eat out for busy days. Try and share it with your loved ones!

And if you’re looking for new ways of including more greens in your meals but can’t eat a lot in a salad form, the “wise smoothie” is a smart saviour – so-called because this combo tastes super good and works with any kind of greens such as celery, kale, collard greens, Swiss chard and spinach.

– Nazli Develi

Almond Butter Stuffed Dates With Chocolate And Hemp

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Serves 20 

Ingredients:

20 Medjool dates
160g almond butter
70g raw vegan chocolate of your choice
¼ cup hemp hearts to sprinkle (or desiccated coconut or flaky sea salt)

Method:

1. Use a knife to make a cut lengthwise in your date and remove the pit.

2. Add a spoonful of almond butter to the centre of the date.

3. Dip one half in melted chocolate.

4. Sprinkle hemp hearts, flaky sea salt or desiccated coconut according to taste.

The Wise Smoothie

Prep Time: 7 minutes
Serves 2 

Ingredients:

400g frozen bananas
1 ripe pineapple peeled
A handful of fresh or frozen spinach (or tuscan kale, celery, collard, chard)
500ml orange juice
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger or ginger powder
2-3 tablespoons hemp hearts (optional)

Method:

1. Peel and cut pineapple into small pieces.

2. Wash and drain the kale leaves.

3. Juice fresh oranges (to get 400-500ml juice; how much you add depends on the liquid consistency you desire).

4. Peel and grate ginger.

5. Place all the ingredients in a high-speed blender. Blend until smooth. Divide between the glasses and enjoy!

About Nazli Develi
Nazli is a food designer, an aesthetically minded hands-on chef and an artist with an eye for detail, as well as the creator behind the recipe blog Gurme Vegan, the founder of Green & Awake Plant Food Design Studio and the author of six plant-based cookbooks. She specialises in raw and vegan cuisine, restaurant consultancy, food design, workshops, chef training and creative concepts – all rooted in food expression with nature at its core. Obsessed with art, design, health, wellness and experimental flavours, she’s strongly committed to spreading awareness about plant-based foods as the most sustainable and necessary alternative for the planet. Visit Gurmevegan, follow Nazli on Instagram, and get her books on Amazon.com.