Please don’t think this title alludes to my love of Raisinets, because that is definitely not the case. I can tell you with certainty that I’ve never bought or plan to buy a bag of chocolate covered raisins. Chocolate, yes. Raisins, sure. But even though the ingredients are all fine and dandy, raisins covered in chocolate is just not right.
Raisinets have been on my mind since I discovered this travel blog and read her hysterical post all about them (and please also read her post about the Paleo diet). Besides the article being highly entertaining, it got me thinking about when raisins are an appropriate ingredient. I get mad at them when they disguise themselves as chocolate in oatmeal cookies, but I like them when they add a natural + non-processed sweetness to a healthy cereal or salad.
I happened to have a bag of raisin-filled trail mix on hand from a desperate hangry moment while shopping (I much prefer the nut + chocolate variety). I ate the few necessary bites to curb said hanger, but the rest was going to sit in the cupboard unless I figured out a better use for it. Reminding myself of when I do like raisins – as a natural sweetener – and still having Raisinets on top of mind, I knew just what to do. I present to you: Raisinets protein bites.
I threw the whole bag of trail mix into the food processor and blended it up. I added dates for more sweetness and chocolate because…chocolate. No reason needed.
They turned out even better than I could have imagined. The raisins and dates add natural sweetness to the unsweetened cocoa powder without having the odd texture of a Raisinet. So really, they should be called better-than-raisinets protein bites. Well, it doesn’t matter what they are called because you will happily be eating guilt-free chocolate with a boost of protein, which in turn gives you a boost of energy.
Raisinets lovers and haters can now agree on something.
- 1 cup // 170g of mixed nuts (such as walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and cashews)
- ¼ cup // 40g raisins
- (or 1 ¼ cups raisin/nut trail mix)
- 6 Medjool dates
- ¼ cup // 30g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon chia seeds (optional)
- pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoons water
- In your food processor, finely chop the nuts and raisins. Add the dates, cocoa powder, chia seeds, and salt and process until the ingredients are well combined. If your mixture is not sticking together, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until the dough forms into a ball in the processor. Take out the dough and roll into 1-inch balls. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.
6 Responses
Love stumbling across fellow CA food bloggers – even if you’re abroad for the moment! These treats would have been perfect for my hiking trip this past weekend.
glad you stopped by! I definitely miss the bay, but I’ll be back soon enough 🙂 yes, these would be perfect for hiking!
This is such a good idea! Like a trail mix ball bite! And I loooove rasinets. But I hate junior mints. I feel like I’m eating chocolate covered tooth paste, haha!
What?!! We have opposite tastes in candy 🙂 I love everything minty!
So clearly I am 30 going on 92 because I am one of the other 12 people in the world who actually LOVES raisinets. Clearly I had a deprived childhood but the combo of chocolate and raisins is one of my favorites! The good news- I know I am going to love these protein bites 🙂 Sounds delicious.
haha that’s awesome…glad there are some people out there to keep them on the shelves! you will without a doubt love these guys then 🙂