A Note from Camilla & Melissa:

We love to have guest posts and we’re so grateful that others want to share their stories and experiences with all of us. This is a guest post from Louise Hendon at PaleoMagazine.com, and we think you’ll love this recipe…who can resist bacon-anything anyway?! Louise Hendon just released her new cookbook, which comes with some amazing recipes and a bunch of awesome bonuses – click here to check it out!

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Bacon Wrapped Dates Stuffed with Cashew “Cheese”

By Louise Hendon

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…

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

RECIPE

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.
Preheat oven to 350 F (177 C).
Place the soaked cashews, 1/2 cup fresh water, and coconut oil into a blender and blend until smooth.
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).
Bake for 20 minutes before flipping the bacon-wrapped dates over (with tongs).
Bake for another 10 minutes (i.e. for a total of 30 minutes).

Badges

Kid-friendly, AIP-friendly

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Louise Hendon 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.

Learn more at PaleoMagazine.com.