Mint Chocolate Chip Cashew "Cheesecake"

I will have to be honest that I have always been curious about creating anything from cashews soaked overnight. I wondered about the texture as well as the flavor, but somehow, there are all sorts of recipes containing this ingredient. I stumbled upon this recipe (in a late night browsing aka not sleeping when I should be) and knew I had to make it. It was fun, whimsical, and had the goblin green that would fit in nice with the Halloween spirit. Plus, let's be honest, I get to sneak in a vegetable for my little one. 

Before you close out of the browser, let me stop you. You don't taste the spinach. Crazy, right? However, this "dessert" contains lots of great nutrients and lacks the refined sugar. What does all that mean--- you should probably have two slices, instead of one. If you live by a Trader Joe's most of these ingredients can be found very reasonably priced there. 

Modified barely from Tasty-Yummies

Ingredients:

Crust-

• 20 pitted dates 
• 2 C Sliced Almonds
• 1/2 C unsweetened shredded coconut
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 C cocoa powder

Filling-

• 16 oz Bag raw cashews (soaked overnight)
• 1/3 C Coconut oil (liquid state, so you will most likely have to microwave it)
• 1/2 C Raw Honey (I am lucky to have a wonderful local beekeeper supply me)
• 4 T water
• 1/2 C Coconut Cream (Trader Joe's is great) save the rest for the whipped cream at the end
• 1 T Vanilla 
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 C Mint leaves 
• 2 C Fresh Spinach
• 1 tsp mint extract
• Mini Chocolate Chips 
  

For the Crust, grab your food processor. Place 10 dates and the rest of the dry ingredients and pulse together until it is a flour consistency. Add the rest of the dates. Place in a springform pan (I used a 9 in) lined with parchment paper, and press down to form a crust. Cover with foil and place in freezer. 

For the filling, drain the cashews and quickly rinse and drain again. Place in food processor, along with the oil and coconut cream, honey, vanilla, and water. Pulse til a smooth but somewhat thick consistency. Then add mint, spinach, mint extract, and salt and combine until you get a pretty green color. 
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Remove crust from freezer, and spread filling. Place back in freezer for about 20 minutes. Take out and sprinkle with miniature chocolate chips. Cover and chill overnight or at least 6 hours. You can serve with whipped cream, or you can whip the remaining coconut cream with a little bit of powdered sugar to taste. (Ha there goes eliminating that refined sugar)! Enjoy