Guess what!

The Essential Paleo Cookbook is here! And, I have been blessed with the opportunity to feature a few recipes from this amazing book. PaleoMagazine has some great stuff…have you seen it?

This truly is a book for anyone to use – simple, easy, and delicious. Yes, that’s it!
Louise and Jeremy hit the nail on the head.

Here’s Louise…

One of the last foods I gave up when I went Paleo was cheese. My husband and I both loved cheese, and I’d guess that almost half of our dishes contained cheese of some sort.

 

We used to make these bacon-wrapped dates with blue cheese, but now that we don’t eat cheese any longer, we had to find a new way to make this recipe. (We didn’t really NEED to find a Paleo way to make it, but we just couldn’t resist).

 

You wouldn’t imagine it, but the cashews actually turn out quite well as a substitute for cheese. I certainly never imagined it would turn out this well.

 

The only problem with this recipe is that 16 dates probably won’t last very long for you.

 

Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Cashew ‘Cheese’

 

Prep Time: 15 minutes (however, cashews should ideally be soaked overnight before using)

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 45 minutes

Yield: 4 servings

Serving Size: 4 dates

 

Ingredients

• 16 pitted dates (small) (scale up the cashew and coconut oil amounts for larger dates)
• 8 slices of thinly sliced bacon (cut each slice in half to create 16 shorter slices)
• 1/2 cup (60 g) raw cashews, soaked overnight (omit for AIP)
• 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) coconut oil
• 1/2 cup (118 ml) water

 

Instructions

1. Place the raw cashews into a bowl of room temperature water so that it covers the cashews, drape a paper towel or tea towel over the bowl to prevent dust settling, and soak overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).
3. Place the soaked cashews, 1/2 cup fresh water, and coconut oil into a blender and blend until smooth.
4. Slice each date along one side so that it opens up and fill each date with the cashew ‘cheese’ and close it up. Wrap one of the half-slices of bacon around the date and place on baking tray with sides (as the fat from the bacon tends to run).
5. Bake for 20 minutes before flipping the bacon-wrapped dates over (with tongs).
6. Bake for another 10 minutes (i.e. for a total of 30 minutes).

Kid-friendly, AIP-friendly

 About Louise Hendon

Louise is the co-founder of PaleoMagazine.com and author of the Essential Paleo Cookbook. Apart from cooking a little too often, she really loves hiking and playing with her Shih Tzu named Karma.