All-Natural Apple and Vegan Caramel Dip Snack

Can I be honest about something? Dates are seriously a "miracle" food. It's funny how we humans have created sweets that nature has provided since the birth of time. 

Upon my leaving of Hannover, I rummaged through my cabinets to see what goodies I had left. I had some vanilla I bought in Mexico, about 6 mejdool dates and a partial carton of Alnatura's unsweetened soy milk. Hmm, what can this concoct? Caramel of course! I loved my Apple Caramel Smoothie so much that I felt dedicated to eating both in its natural form. 

I never made caramel before so I knew this would be the perfect time to create, plate and eat. Luckily, I had enough dates to satisfy a single serving of wintery goodness for my sweet tooth.

I can remember apple and caramel dip since the birth of well - me. Caramel and apples go together like peas and carrots - it just meshes well. Not only is this caramel from nature but its the easiest sweet to make. All you need to do is throw the ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth. It's so fast and easy its quicker to make this than a sandwich. I was so excited that I ran outside, fingers frozen, to photograph this in and around Hannover's Altstadt Weinnachts Markt Forest (Old Town Christmas Market). 

My tiny little food processor had a hard time blending such a small amount so I had to add more liquid. Based on the power of your blender or food processor, you should add the liquid gradually. I prefer my caramel a bit thicker so if you want a running liquid - add the liquid, but note that too much alters the flavor. 

If you live in Germany, liquid vanilla is hard to find, so you can use the powder vanilla instead. PS - I HIGHLY recommend using alcohol-free vanilla. After using vanilla bought directly from Mexico, its hard to beat that unique flavor but the alcohol overpowers the caramel flavor. 

All-Natural Apple and Vegan Caramel Dip Snack
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 5 minutes
Serves: 1
​
Ingredients:
1 gala apple, sliced
1/3 cup mejdool dates
1/4 tsp vanilla
3-4 tsp nondairy milk (I used unsweetened soy milk)

Directions: Place ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend until smooth! Wah la! That's it. Sometimes less is more and in this scenario nothing beats a healthy snack made straight from home. 

Cheers to the year of the monkey! I hope you dip into the New Year's with good health and happiness this 2016.

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