Nothing makes me happier than a REALLY good breakfast. I can't think of anything better than waking up to The Works. Even better if it comes with copious amounts of chocolate.
Today I'm sharing a recipe that I used extensively when I was trying to stop binge eating. The trick to really stopping is giving your body plenty of fiber and water to balance the crazy blood sugar fluctuations caused by extended periods of binging and restriction.
This nutella is power packed with lots of good fiber and good fats from the hazelnuts to slow the release into the bloodstream.
Also did I mention that it has only 3 main ingredients? Hazelnuts, dates and unsweetened cocoa powder! Take that store bought sugar filled Nutella!
As a way of comparison, let's look at what's in the a usual nutella bottle:
Ingredients are placed on a label in order of their quantity used in the product. And in store bought nutella, the first two ingredients are sugar AND palm oil then hazelnuts! All store bought produts have copious amounts of refined sugar and unhealthy fat in them because sugar and fat together at as addictive agents to compel you to eat more of the product. When companies have got you hooked, you buy more!
Here's how to make a healthier alternative at home:
You'll need:
1 cup of hazelnuts (I bought it from a shop at Kovan heartland mall on Level 1 near the escalators. You can also find it at Phoon Huat or shops selling nuts and dried goods along Bugis street. Hazelnuts are extremely expensive so I suggest buying them only when they are on discount- like now! )
5- 10 pitted dates (use more if you have a sweet tooth)
1/2 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder ( I used Hershey's)
1/2 cup + Water or unsweetened milk ( I used almond milk)
Optional:
1 tablespoon coconut oil ( I highly recommend Cocos Extra virgin cold pressed coconut oil- support local!)
3 drops of vanilla extract
Other kinds of sweeteners if you need to such as honey etc.
Steps:
If you have time, you can roast the hazelnuts first. It doesn't really do much actually. I've tried both non roasted and roasted versions and I feel that the roasted one just has a nicer smell. So when I make a portion for myself, I can't be bothered to roast. But when I'm making for friends and family as gifts, I roast them. Haha
Leave to cool after roasting. By this time it would smell amazing and be a beautiful golden brown. Try not to eat all of it now. We need them for the Nutella!
Over here I'm using 7 honey dates I bought from the same store. If you buy them fat like that, there is no need to soak them. But if you are using the dried out ones you'll have to.
I use a smaller, more powerful blender like my darling shimono to blend the dates with a tablespoon of water first. If you have a powerful blender, you can skip this step. My food processor is really small and previously when I tried this recipe, there were bits of dates in the nutella (fibre!)because my food processor couldn't handle both dates and hazelnuts at the same time. If you have a vitamix or equivalent, I'm sure it would be not problem at all. 
Next place the hazelnuts, date paste, cocoa powder into the blender. I did my hazelnuts first because that was all that could fit. Haha.
Once you start blending, the nuts will go from powdery to smooth and buttery. Exactly like how normal nut butters are made. 
I used vanilla essence and coconut oil in this recipe but I don't feel like it did much for it. Perhaps it was slightly creamier? Hard to tell so totally optional.
When you see that most of it has been incorporated, it will look like that texture above. Now is the time to pour in your liquid of choice. The smoother and creamier you want it, the more liquid you put in. Start with 1/4 cup and then work your way up. I ended up using about 3/4 cup for this batch.Constantly taste your nutella to see if it needs more dates to sweeten. If you want a darker colour, it'll need more cocoa powder and consequently, more dates to sweeten because the cocoa is bitter.
Blend till you are happy with the texture! I love it when it turns gloriously creamy and fudgy!
This recipe makes 1 mason jar full. I like to add additional hazelnuts on top for that added crunch. It can store in the fridge for a month. Unfortunately it always disappears in my household within a week. Even though this recipe is made from whole foods, it's still a treat though so don't think you can whack it all in in one sitting! Two tablespoons is a decent amount to have in a day :D
I've served it to my friends with breadsticks ( they said it's like a less sweet version of nutella!) but my favorite is to dip my fruits in it and indulge! Such breakfasts always make me so excited to wake up to!
Try it yourself today! :D
P.s- now you can save the recipe cards below in a folder on your computer for easier reference! :D
