I’m not sure when cake pops became a thing, but to my three-and-a-half-year-old, they are definitely the thing. I suppose they appeal to the toddler in all of us: perfectly round parcels of cake enrobed in a pastel shell with sprinkles and then stuck on a stick. They’re like the cartoon characters of sweets, beckoning our young with promises of bouncy, sweet, giggly, fun, fun, fun. Of course, whenever I spot them, I want to turn on my heels and run, run, run.

But inevitably, just as I am about to pull my 180 get-outta-there-quick maneuver, those cartoonish sirens have already grabbed my little one’s attention; and the next thing I know, her nose is squished up against the glass case where they live and she is begging, pleading, like a tiny junkie for her next fix. Okay, so I am well aware that all this may sound like the hyperbole of a fanatic mom, and in full disclosure, sugar is on my s#@t list, but hear me out. It’s for good reason.

Sugar is in everything! It has become an ingredient that is so ubiquitous, you have to be extremely determined, just to limit it’s consumption; not to mention, parents have to have almost superhero strength to avoid it (it will make the kids happy in the moment, an emotional volcano will erupt if you don’t give in…). Believe me, I’ve given in more times than I can count. There is absolutely no shaming going on here. But the more I learn, the angrier I become when companies take advantage of our vulnerability (i.e. exhaustion) as parents and try to get our kids hooked on junk.

If it were just about the occasional piece of cake or the aforementioned cake pop villain, then I’d just go with the everything-in-moderation philosophy. But the thing is, it’s way too easy to unknowingly feed our kids sugar with almost every meal and snack. While we are all aware of the obvious sweet foods, sugar is hiding in everything from peanut butter and canned tomatoes to salad dressing, yogurt and bread. And to make it even more confusing, the wily sweet stuff can be called a litany of other names on ingredients labels. For example: Maltodextrin, rice syrup, fructose, barley malt, dextrose…the list goes on. It’s all just sugar.

“It seems we are poisoning ourselves with the very thing that prevented us from poisoning ourselves. ”

We, as humans, are genetically programmed to seek out sweet foods. The desire for all things sweet is even stronger in infants and children (the natural sugar in breast milk ensures that babies will do the hard work of nursing). This served us waaaaay back when early humans had to differentiate between safe and unsafe food; sweet tastes gave the green light to go ahead and nosh away. But today, while safe food is much easier to come by, and exposure to sugar is exponentially higher than during our ancestors’ time, we still haven’t outgrown our preference for sweet foods. And now we’re in quite a situation. It seems we are poisoning ourselves with the very thing that prevented us from poisoning ourselves.

And here is the final shake-down: Most are aware that excessive sugar intake leads to insulin resistance, causes elevated blood sugar and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. You may even be aware that sugar promotes inflammation, which is the leading cause of most diseases; and of course, it makes sense that when sugary foods take the place of nutrient-dense calories, we see malnourishment and vitamin deficiencies, even if calorie needs are being met (or over-met). But research also shows that consuming too much added sugar may increase the likelihood of memory deficits, the risk of Alzheimer's disease and cognitive delay in kids, as well as asthma and cardiovascular disease. Too much sugar has also been shown to disrupt the gut microbiome and negatively impair immunity.

So how much is too much, you ask? Well, it depends on who you ask. The American Heart Association, recommends that adults and kids older than 2 should not exceed 25 grams of daily added sugar, which equates to about 6 teaspoons. The AHA advises that children two and younger should have no added sugar in their diet at all. While the Center for Disease Control and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans both recommend that kids age 1 and older and adults, get less than 10% of their daily calories from sugar. But I’m going with Gary Taubes’ advice. In his book The Case Against Sugar, he writes,

“Ultimately, the question of how much is too much becomes a personal decision, just as we all decide as adults what level of alcohol, caffeine or cigarettes we’ll ingest. Enough evidence exists for us to consider sugar very likely to be a toxic substance, and to make an informed decision about how best to balance the likely risks with the benefits.”

Personally, I like the occasional piece of cake or cookie, and because I don’t drink soda or eat much processed food, treating myself to a little something sweet here and there works for me. But getting to this point was a process, I had to give up added sugar for a month to really understand how much was too much, and feel how my body reacted to added sugars (post-nasal drip was a big one). I recommend this approach because we are all different.

So if you were wondering, that cake pop that my daughter really wanted had 18 grams of sugar. If you divide that by 4 to get the teaspoons, we’re already at 4.5 teaspoons of sugar before lunch! That only leaves 1.5 teaspoons for the rest of the day if you’re following the AHA guidelines. No bueno.

Now I would like to introduce you to my solution: The date-ball cake pop. I’ll admit, they didn’t turn out as polished looking as the bakery case cake pops (I’m still tweaking the recipe to make them more attractive, personally I think it’s shallow, but I know my customer). They’re essentially date and walnut energy balls dipped in coconut butter frosting with a fancy paper straw stuck in them. My daughter gobbled them up and my husband and I have been enjoying them (sans straw) with our coffee in the morning. Even without the frosting they hit the spot; They are sweet, but not birthday cake sweet, and they’re chock full of fiber, protein, vitamins, minerals and healthy fats, meaning you won’t get that havoc wreaking glucose spike. Plus, they have a more nuanced flavor profile. Which, I hope, translates to the development of a more sophisticated palate and a natural aversion to cartoonish sweets. Ha! A woman can dream.

CAKE: 1 cup deglet dates, no pits (about 22 dates) 1 cup walnuts 1 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup unsweetened nut butter (I used 1/4 cup peanut butter + 1/4 cup sunflower seed butter 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp cardamom 2 T almond flour 1 T virgin coconut oil
COCONUT COATING: 3/4 cup coconut butter (melted) 1 tsp maple syrup ½ tsp vanilla extract ¼ cup coconut oil (melted)

CHOCOLATE COATING: 1/2 bar Lilly’s no sugar added baking chocolate 1T coconut oil, Shredded coconut for decorating

INSTRUCTIONS:

Line a baking sheet with a sheet of parchment paper and set aside.
Add all of the cake ingredients to a food processor and process until you've achieved a coarse dough-like consistency. Transfer to a mixing bowl when done.
Use a 1" scoop to evenly portion the dough into balls. It’ll be a little messy at this point.
Chill in the refrigerator for about 10 minutes. After the dough chills, remove the dough and roll each ball between your palms until they are perfectly ball-shaped, set the finished ball on the parchment paper.
Carefully push the end of your paper straws through the center of each ball. Then remove. Freeze for 10 minutes.
While the pops are in the freezer make the coating. Fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Put the glass jar of coconut butter in the boiling water and turn the burner down to a simmer. Once the butter has softened, scoop the butter into a mixing bowl.
Stir in coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla extract.
Dip the end of each cake pop stick into the coconut butter and place in the hole you already made. Return each pop to the freezer for another 5 minutes.
Now figure out what you’re going to use as a stand. I used a jar filled with popcorn kernels.
Remove the pops from the freezer, dip each one in the chocolate and/or coconut butter.
Roll your pops in coconut or crushed nuts.
Now put them in your stand and carefully move the whole apparatus into the freezer for another 10 minutes.

You can skip the whole cake-pop part of these nutrient dense date balls if you just want a healthy snack to keep on hand. They don’t even need to be coated if you’re not feeling decadent; I actually prefer to eat them naked (I mean the pops are naked; I am fully clothed. But eating them in the buff could be liberating…)

Operation Cake Pop Makeover + Sugar Shakedown