Poppy Seed & Date Energy Squares

Looking for a sweet and quick pick-me-up? I am excited to share this awesome new recipe with you! These little squares are packed with protein, essential omega fats, minerals, vitamins and more.

If you’ve delved into my Beauty Detox Power book, you will have come across the chapter where I get into the “Foods and Practices to Balance the Individual Chakras”, and my intent is to help contribute suggestions that will improve your overall health and get you to your ideal weight.

When we think of Ajna (third eye/sixth chakra), we think of energy. This energy is associated with higher intuition, perception, insight, wisdom, dreams and psychic abilities. It also has a connection to our visualization, focus and concentration.

Purple/indigo foods resonate with the vibration of this chakra and that is why a key part of this recipe is the Medjool date! Dark purple foods contain an antioxidant know as anthocyanin, which helps protect your brain and nervous system. :)

So let’s focus on a couple of the main ingredients…

Dates and their Health Benefits

Medjool dates are first of all a great source of fiber. This fiber helps to cleanse the body, as well as regulate blood sugar and levels of cholesterol, and of course eliminate our beauty enemy: constipation.

Medjool dates are also rich in copper, which is an important mineral that the body uses to help absorb iron, form collagen and red blood cells, create a healthy nervous system and generate energy.

Another bonus (which I’m a fan of) is that Medjool dates are great in controlling addiction for sweet foods. Their high fiber content helps to keep you full longer- curbing the cravings.They are super sweet themselves, but unlike empty white cane sugar, at least they contain fiber and minerals and are a natural, unprocessed food grown in nature.

Thanks to loads of both soluble and insoluble dietary fiber and plenty of amino acids, dates aid in keeping a healthy digestive system.

What About Poppy Seeds?

We know poppy seeds add color and crunch to almost any baked goods, but did you know you also gain nutrients, even from a small amount? They not only contain some niacin and folate, but are a great source of minerals. *Note: 1 teaspoon provides measurable amounts of calcium, iron and zinc.

In addition to carrying oxygen throughout your body, iron also stores it in muscles so that it’s readily available when they need extra oxygen for increased activity. Our immune systems need iron to work properly and it’s used to build proteins and neurotransmitters.

You may not need large amounts of zinc, but it certainly is important! You definitely need to consume the daily requirement since your body doesn’t store zinc and it must be available to fill significant jobs in the body. Zinc is also needed to support the structure of proteins and for the production and development of new cells.

I had all of this in mind when I thought of these small yet powerful little bars. Let’s face it, when it comes to cravings, it’s difficult to find tasty energy bars without all the processed junk that we find in most store bought brands (ie shady vegetable oils of various sorts, protein isolates, fractionated syrups, etc. etc. Yuck!).

With all of this and more, who could not want to give these goodies a GO?!

Gather all your ingredients (see full recipe below).

Process all ingredients in a food processor into a chunky mixture.

Line a small (6 inch x 6 inch), square glass dish with clear wrap, pressing the mixture down evenly into the dish with enough wrap hanging over the sides. Use the hanging wrap as a “handle” to lift the plastic out of the dish and invert the square mixture onto a cutting board.

Cut into 9 even squares, and pack into a BPA-free container.

These are great for snacking on at work, at home or for a picnic…and your kids will love them also! :)

Check out the full recipe…

In love and health,
Kimberly