How These Chocolate Quinoa Crunch Bars Can Help Shorten Labor
When I was pregnant with Ezra I read anything and everything I could get my hands on about labor and delivery. I was aiming for an unmedicated birth (which I accomplished!) so I wanted to be as prepared as I could be. One thing I kept reading over and over was that eating dates every day in the final weeks leading up to delivery would have major benefits.
This study looked at two groups of women: those who consumed six dates per day in the last four weeks of pregnancy, and those who did not. The study discovered that the women who consumed the dates had much shorter labors compared to the women who did not eat dates. The women who ate dates were dilated an average of 3.5 cm upon admission to the hospital, compared to 2 cm from those who didn’t. Not only that, those who consumed dates had an average 8.5 hours of labor (from 0-10 cm) while those who didn’t had an average 15.1 hours of labor...wow! I think every woman would be happy with a shorter labor-myself included!
I also read that:
-Spontaneous labor occurred in 96% of those who consumed dates, compared with 79% women in the non-date fruit consumers
-Use of prostin/oxytocin was significantly lower in women who consumed dates, compared with the non-date fruit consumers
-The first stage of labor was shorter in women who consumed date fruit compared with the non-date fruit consumers
So with Ezra, I did add more date fruit into my diet, but I didn't eat every day. I had spontaneous labor as my waters broke the day before my due date but I also had a very long (22 hour) labor lol! I am determined to do what I can to help make that shorter this time around but even if this doesn't really help, it's definitely NOT a burden to eat these ;) I've been testing out different recipes and this one is a winner! Justin and Ezra probably ate more of them than I did, they were so good. I'm working on a couple more recipes to try this weekend and I hope to have up here on the blog very soon- if I don't go into labor by then haha! But for now give these a shot, even if you're not pregnant these are a clean healthy treat that anyone will enjoy!
You'll need just 7 simple ingredients, just how I like it :)
Pitted dates, dried cranberries, almond butter, coconut oil, walnuts, cooked quinoa, chocolate chips (the darker the better- this is what I had on hand).
I cooked and cooled the quinoa ahead of time, you'll want to do this step first. The rest is super simple just follow the steps below!
You are going to be surprised how much this tastes like a candy bar, just look at all that deliciousness!
I hope you and your family love these as much as we did! I can't wait to make them again- Enjoy :)
Ingredients:
1 cup pitted dates
½ cup cooked quinoa, cooled
1 cup raw walnuts
½ cup creamy almond butter
⅓ cup dried cranberries
Chocolate layer:
½ cup chocolate chips
½ tablespoon coconut oil
Put all ingredients in a food processor and mix until it starts to form a ball
Press mixture evenly into an ungreased 8x8 dish
Put bars in the fridge and begin making chocolate layer
Microwave chocolate chip and coconut oil for about 30 seconds or more until melted, stirring frequently to avoid burning
Pour on top of quinoa bars and put back in the fridge for another 30 minutes or so until chocolate layer is hard
Cut & Serve. Store in Fridge
