Can you think of a time you wanted to eat any kind of carb put in front of you? It doesn’t matter if it’s sweet, a bread, fruit, or pretzels – just bring on the carbs! This is very common for runners and other endurance athletes. This carb craving might make its presence most known after a long run, hard workout, or with evening snacking. No matter the time of day, I’ve got a great snack option to help satisfy that carb craving – Medjool Dates!

Medjool dates are a great on the go sweet snack or topping. One of my favorite medjool date snacks is to cut the date halfway through and remove the pit. Replace the pit with a walnut and close the date. It’s so simple, yet so delicious. Dates also make a great addition to morning oatmeal, homemade energy bar, or as an ingredient in a sweet bread.

Why dates?

Dates not only can naturally satisfy a sweet tooth, but they also have nutritional benefit. A couple dates can offer as much as 30 mg calcium, .4 mg iron, 334 mg potassium, 26 mg magnesium, 7.2 mcg folate, and 36 grams of carbohydrate. Dates also contain antioxidants like lutein, beta-carotene, and tanins. At least this sweet treat carries some quality nutrition while squelching a training athlete’s sweet tooth.

Look for medjool dates in the produce section of the grocery store. I even purchase them in bulk at Costco. Do keep in mind that dates are rich in fiber and can act as a natural laxative. Line those pits up in a row to keep a general tally of how many sweet dates are easily popped in the mouth if you feel sensitive to its laxative effect.

Last week I mentioned a trip to Whole Foods for a quick dinner meal. During this trip I purchased a few of these Two Degrees bars because I liked that they work in whole grains through quinoa and millet with other simple, natural ingredients like dates, sunflower and chia seeds, pecans, and almond butter.

I find these bars to be kind of “special” because they work in great ingredients that are often less common in the typical American’s diet. Although I can’t deny, I have a personal goal to generate enough of a spark that you will want to prepare more wonderful options such as quinoa and millet into mealtime regularly. They really are fantastic once you step out of your typical eating comfort zone and learn how you enjoy eating them the most. In the meantime, this is a nice quick-grab option for an athlete (and non-athlete) to work in healthy fat and grains to fuel demanding training.

But WAIT – This bar does more than the body good! Two Degrees is partnered with organizations like Partners In Health and Valid Nutrition to help feed the world’s hungry children. It’s nice to have a healthy and quick, grain-based grab that not only fuels our training bodies, but fuels children around the world.