It's here, the recipe for that creamy delicious medjool date no-tella (which by the way means nutella- without all that naughty stuff) I wanted to have this out before International Nutella Day, but better late then never hey ;)

This spread is the perfect healthy alternative and chocolate craving fixer! It goes deliciously on toast, in smoothies, turned into a slice, on pancakes, or straight from the jar with a spoon- oh yeah!

Alright, so here's some nutrition info:

Hazelnuts

like other tree nuts are high in mono and poly unsaturated fats (the good guys!!) as well as protein. Hazelnuts also contain high amounts of fibre, potassium, folate, vitamin E, manganese, iron and calcium. Nuts are essential in a plant-based diet.

So why are those unsaturated fats good for you?

Well we need fats, they help us absorb nutrients from other foods, we also produce our hormones in our body from fats + every single cell in our body has a wall around it made from fats! Yep, they are vital! Within our blood we have different types lipoproteins that carry the fats (cholesterol) around. The bad ones are called LDL or low-density lipoproteins, that's because they carry more fat which is low density, then there is HDL or high density lipoproteins, which are of a higher density as they carry more protein and less fat. HDL acts like a magnet that sweeps up some excess cholesterol in your vessels and take it to your liver to be excreted or used to produce hormones.. So having a higher HDL and lower LDL = happy vessels! Unsaturated fats have a cholesterol lowering effect (LDL)- (and I'm talking about the blood cholesterol levels) and raise the HDL (think about a see-saw of the two) (yay) which means they are cardio (heart) protective.

Cacao Powder

is the raw form of cocoa powder. They both come from the raw cacao bean, however cocoa powder is heated at extreme temperatures which destroys the

tocopherols (Vitamin E- an antioxidant, which protects cells and organs from damage by 'free-radicals' and also assists in blood cell formation) and phytosterols (Plant sterols that displace cholesterol from the micelle in the absorption process in the small intestine)

which destroys a lot of the nutrition. Okay, now we have this sorted, lets talk about that goodness in cacao powder. Cacao is dubbed a 'superfood'- high mineral content and antioxidant levels. Cacao also has a considerable amount of caffeine in it, so keep that in mind when you're reaching for the chocolate treats in the middle of the night.

So my ingredients are as simple as this: hazelnuts, dates, coconut milk, cacao powder, and Himalayan salt.

Nutella (in order of quantity): SUGAR, vegetable oil (palm), hazelnuts (only 13%), skim milk powder (8.7%), fat-reduced cocoa powder (7.4%), emulsifier (lecithins)(soy), flavouring (vanillin) and also states- 'no-need for refrigeration'… hmmm sounds suss. Hazelnuts coming in at 3rd after sugar and palm oil, yet its called hazelnut spread with cocoa. Might as well call it sugar and oil spread with hazelnuts. Anyway I will stop righting nutella off before I upset some die hard lovers.

Creamy Date No-Tella

GF, DF, V

makes ~ 500mL/full jar

Ingredients:

1 cup roasted hazelnuts (you can use raw ones to make it raw)

8 medjool dates

1/4 cup raw cacao powder

1/2 can coconut milk (200mL) - see note

1/2 tsp salt

How to make:

Add all ingredients to a blender (high powdered such as a Vitamix).
Blend on high until smooth and creamy. (This may take some time).
Scoop into a clean jar, seal with a lid and store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Note: if you don't like coconut flavoured things you can substitute the coconut milk for almond milk, hazelnut milk, rice milk, oat milk, or filtered water. It may loose some of the creaminess as coconut milk has a higher fat content.

“Chocolate comes from cocoa, which comes from a tree. So chocolate is a plant, so technically chocolate is salad ”

Now you have a jar full of creamy datey no-TELLA your set! You can even turn this paste into a healthy slice for a real treat!

Simply make a base as you would for any other slice then spread the no-TELLA over it and top with cacao nibs, crushed hazelnuts and coconut flakes- yuuuummo!