Postpartum Snacks - Date Ball

These are wonderful as a postpartum snack for nursing mothers because they have a high nutritional and caloric content. As a postpartum doula, I like to make them in very small balls so that Mamas can snack on them anytime, especially for middle of the night feedings.

Notes:

You can use just about any kind of nuts that you like, shelled hemp seeds, sunflower seeds are nice additions

You can make this into a log and simply slice off small bites

Variations

Sometimes I change this recipe up a bit and add ½ c nut or seed butter to the dates (which makes it super soft and sticky) . This will require that you roll it into a log (with parchment paper)  and refrigerate it for an hour before cutting the log into slices.

Ingredients

2 Cups Seedless Organic Dates

¼ Cup Organic Cashews Roughly Chopped

¼ Cup Organic Pistachios Roughly Chopped

¼ Cup Organic Pecans Roughly Chopped

¼ Cup Organic Almonds Roughly Chopped

Basically one cup of chopped nuts 

¼ Cup Organic Raisins

2 Tsp Organic White Sesame Seeds or Pumpkin Seeds

1 Tbsp Organic Ghee

½ Tsp Cardamom Powder

1-2 Pinch Nutmeg

1-2 Tsp Organic White Poppy Seeds

¼ Tsp Vanilla extract 

Instructions

Step 1: Preparing Dates, Nuts and Seeds:

1. In a heavy bottom pan, add Sesame or Pumpkin seeds and on slow flame, dry roast the seeds till they turn light brown. Keep it aside.

2. In the same pan, dry roast Poppy Seeds till they turn light brown and keep it aside in a separate plate.

3. Using a small chopper or knife, chop Cashews, Pistachios, Almonds, and Pecans roughly so that you can still have crunchy bites. If you prefer to powder them, the balls will be softer.

4. Take seedless dates and blend them using 8-10 pulses as they will be coarsely chopped. Keep it aside. I use Vitamix for chopping dates.

Step 2: Assembling Balls:

5. In a heavy bottom pan, on slow flame, add Ghee. Once Ghee is melted, add all the dry chopped nuts, seeds, and raisins in the pan.

6. Roast them on a low flame for 4-5 minutes till they change light brown in color, and they give a nice aroma.

7. Add coarsely blended dates to the above mixture and mix it well.

8. Add Cardamom powder, Nutmeg powder and Vanilla 

9. Continue to stir till the dates start releasing the oil.

10. Take the pan from flame and allow the mixture to cool for a minute or so.

11. Apply a dash of ghee on your palm. Using an ice cream scoop, take the mixture in the palm of your hand and start making a ball. Put the pressure as needed using both hands and roll the balls. Please do not leave the mixture to cool down as you will not be able to make balls.

12. Roll all the balls in Poppy Seeds on a plate so that they can stick to the balls. This is optional

IN JOY

Hi I'm Stella

I do this work because I believe every person deserves full agency over their body and their birth.

My approach is shaped by decades of lived experience—as a yoga teacher, mother of three grown children, and doula. I don’t separate body, mind, and spirit. I work with all of it. Breath. Movement. Intuition. Real-life wisdom.

My role is not to tell you what to do. It’s to help you feel informed, supported, and confident in your choices—so you can meet birth from a place of trust, clarity, and power.

You don’t have to do this alone.

If you’re looking for grounded, holistic birth and postpartum support, let’s connect.