I was an ethical vegan before I became interested in the health benefits of a plant-based diet, so the first time I ever heard of The China Study was in Forks Over Knives. Long story short, it’s a fascinating study of how diet affects health. People from different parts of China were studied over a 10-year period, and what they found in the simplest terms was that people in urban areas who were eating a Western-influenced diet heavy on animal products had poorer health over time compared to people in more rural areas who were still eating a traditional diet that was mostly plant-based.

Since the film brought a new audience to the study, there have been lots of cookbooks released based on the whole food, plant-based diet recommended by the study’s findings, including several official China Study cookbooks. I was particularly interested in this one, though, because it was written for families with children. You know, those little creatures who can spot a “green thing” in their food from a mile away? I was curious if I could slide healthy treats past Teno – with no oils or refined sugars?

The day I received my review copy of The China Study Family Cookbook: 100 Recipes to Bring Your Family to the Plant-Based Table I made Blondies from white beans and date paste. I substituted the flour in the recipe with Toasted Quinoa Flakes so they’d be gluten-free, and have a little extra protein. Teno gobbled them up, regardless of the fact that they contained no oil, no refined sugar, and were made from whole food ingredients.

I decided to share this recipe today because 1) It’s hot AF in Chicago right now 2) I love anything with fewer than five ingredients and 3) I have an unbelievable amount of dates and cashews in my house.

I’m also giving away a copy of this book to one of you – if you live in the U.S. or Canada please enter!
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4-Ingredient Cheesecake Pops

By BakeandDestroy Published: June 4, 2017

• Yield: 9 pops

I was an ethical vegan before I became interested in the health benefits of a plant-based diet, so the first time I ever heard of The …

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup Medjool dates, pitted
• 1 cup strawberries, blueberries, or raspberries, fresh or frozen
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1. Put the cashews and dates in a bowl, cover with water, and soak for at least 4 hours or overnight.
   
2. Drain and reserve the soaking liquid. Transfer the cashews and dates to a blender, along with the berries and lemon juice. Puree until smooth and creamy, adding enough of the soaking liquid to make a creamy consistency.
   
3. Spoon the puree into freezer pop molds, cover, and place craft sticks in the molds. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours.
   
4. To remove the pops from the molds, rinse the molds under cool water for 30 seconds, remove the lid, and gently pull the pops from the molds. Serve immediately, or store frozen in zip-top bags.
   
5. RECIPE TIPS To make vanilla cheesecake pops, leave out the berries and add 2 tablespoons more cashews, 1/4 cup water, and 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract to the blender. Sugar-free desserts may not taste sweet enough for those first starting to eat a healthier diet. It can take several weeks for your taste buds to down-regulate. If your kids, or you, are not enjoying sugar-free choices like this one, start by replacing half of the dates with an equal amount of maple syrup and then slowly reducing the amount of maple syrup while increasing the amount of dates in subsequent batches.
   

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