Paleo Raspberry Fudge Hearts

Are you ready for Valentine’s Day?  I have always loved this holiday, because my mom made it special for my brother, sister, and I when we were growing up.  She didn’t have very much to spend, but always managed to have cute, festive treats for us and we felt well loved.  Now I am so blessed to spend Valentine’s Day with Jim and the kids.  Jim is really the best husband ever, and my kids bring so much joy to our lives and to everyone else they come into contact with!  There is SO much to be thankful for!

Serving food is certainly an important love language for me, so I work hard finding ways to nurture my family with healthy treats.  One way that I make the month of February special is by serving these raw, paleo Raspberry Fudge Hearts as a snack or dessert.  The kids have fun helping me make them, and we all enjoy eating them!

There are health benefits to most of the ingredients in this dish, but I’d like to highlight the dates.  Dates are an excellent sweetener, because they have a rich, sweet flavor, but are lower on the Glycemic Index than sugar or even raisins.  They’re high in fiber, potassium, copper, manganese, and magnesium.  The fiber promotes heart and colon health, and the magnesium is anti-inflammatory.  For more information on the health benefits of dates, check out this article.

Of course, in spite of their many health benefits, dates are high in sugar, so they should be eaten in moderation.  Coupling them with nuts is a great idea, because the fat and protein in the nuts will slow down your absorption of the sugar.  This means that instead of bombarding your system with a sugar high (and crash), you will receive energy from a snack like date fudge over the course of a couple hours.  This is especially important to know if you have diabetes!  I almost never eat fruit or other carbs without fat and/or protein.

Before we get to the recipe for the paleo Raspberry Fudge Hearts I want to invite you to join with others who are making healthy changes.  I’d love to walk alongside you in your journey towards wholeness and health! Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full!”  Freedom from food addictions is part of having a truly full life.  

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Serves 12

• 1 Cup Raw Cashews
• 1 Cup Raw Walnuts
• 1 1/2 Cups Dates (make sure they’re pitted)
• 1 Cup Frozen Raspberries
• 1 Tsp Vanilla
• 1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
• 2/3 Cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

Place all of the ingredients in your food processor and run it on high, until the mixture is thick and smooth.  There will still be raspberry seeds, but those should be the only chunks. It may take a couple minutes, depending on your processor.

Don’t thaw and drain your raspberries, because this recipe needs the liquid.  If you would prefer to have a very smooth fudge, you can strain out the seeds in a wire mesh strainer and just use the juice.

Smash about 3 tablespoons of the mixture into 12 valentine cupcake liners that you’ve placed in a muffin tin, or heart shaped silicone cups that are the size of muffins.  Let the fudge cool in the freezer for an hour before pulling the paper or silicon off.  You can eat this with your fingers, but we liked eating them with mini-dessert spoons the most!  Enjoy with the people you love!!!

As you can see, I used my silicone hearts.  They are really affordable and I use them a LOT (not just at Valentine’s Day).  It’s fun to make paleo blueberry muffins or sweet potato muffins in them for a fancy, healthy breakfast.