Tasty Math: Date Nut Nuggets

One of my family's favorite healthy treats is so simple it makes for an easy hands on math experience.  The recipe we used when making these nuggets is as follows, but as you will see in the notes it is super flexible and can be made a variety of ways. 

Date Nut Nuggets

1 1/4 cup raw unsalted cashews

1 1/4 cup pitted dates

1/4 cup unsweetened, flaked coconut

1 Tbsp. Chia Seeds

2 Tbsp. Honey

Process the cashews in a food processor until the pieces of nuts are small but not so small it has become meal.  Add the dates and process until they are chopped into small pieces.  Add the coconut, chia seeds and honey.  Process just until everything is mixed together.  Do not process so long it becomes mush.  Using a small ice cream scoop, scoop up the mixture and place in palm of hand.  Gently pinch (don't roll) it together until it forms a ball shape.  Store in a covered container.  Hide in back of pantry if you don't want your family to eat them all within 12 hours.

Let me show you some pictures so you can see how this goes.  It really is a simple recipe if you remember two things:  keep the proportions of dates and cashews the same, don't process the mixture so long it gets mushy.   The only reason I used 1 1/4 cup cashews and dates in the recipe was because that was all the cashews I had at the time.  (Conveniently, it forced the girls to measure to the 1/4 cup).

Measuring out the cashews

Some of the math concepts we worked on as we made the nuggets:  Equal amounts (for the dates and nuts), measuring to the nearest 1/4 cup, adding 1/2 T + 1/2 T to get 1 full T of chia seeds, estimating (as we squeezed the honey into the food processor).  Later that day we connected a lesson on =, < and > by comparing ingredients:  cashews = dates, cashews > chia seeds, chia seeds < dates. 

Processed and ready to form

Okay this is a picture of the mixture right before we're ready to start forming the nuggets.  As you can see the chunks of nuts and dates are small but not super fine.  Don't forget to process the nuts first and then add the other ingredients or else everything will clump together and you will have to blend it really fine in order to get the lumps out.  In addition to the coconut sometimes we add dried fruit like cranberries or cherries and if we really want to get snazzy we throw in a few chocolate chips.  Feel free to experiment.  If you don't like cashews try a different type of nut.  The only reason this batch had chia seeds in it was because my SIL is up on all the latest health news and apparently they are the hot new superfood.  Since she was kind enough to get me a large bag of the seeds I've been trying to use them in whatever I can (want Chia seeds on your cereal?  No?  How about in the smoothie?, etc.).

I dumped the mix into a bowl before I had the girls start forming the nuggets.  The food processor has a sharp blade and I didn't want them reaching in and getting cut on accident. 

This batch lasted a total of one day.  That is the biggest problem with making the recipe...it disappears so quickly.  Guess we'll have to make a new batch....and use some math in the process.

Linked to Try A New Recipe Tuesday, Learn and Link, Cheerios and Lattes