Food:

Raw Nut Balls- Makes 20 balls (I used a dough scoop that is slighlty bigger than 1T.)

1/4c. walnuts

1/4c. ground chia seeds (if you don’t have chia seeds just use 1/4c. extra walnuts)

1/2c. pitted dates

1/2c. raw cacao powder

1/4c. pure maple syrup

1/4c. raw agave necter

1/2c. pure almond butter (no sugar or oil added)

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. salt (I like REAL salt, or Celtic gray salt)

1/2c. whole almonds

2c. shredded unsweetened coconut

Directions-

1. Place the walnuts and ground chia seeds in a food processors and process until coursely ground. Add the dates, and pulse until combined with the nuts.

2. Add the cacao powder, syrups, almond butter, vanilla and salt. Process until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the almonds, and pulse a few times until combined- you want the almonds to still remain in crunchy chunks.

-side note- my food processor got stuck when I put the whole almonds in and tried to process the mixture. I took all of the mixture out of the food processor and processed   the mixture a little at a time until well combined.

3. Form the balls with a scoop and then roll them between your hands to form a ball. Roll the balls in the coconut. Place in a sealed container in the freezer until hardened.

Nutrition:

Nuts– Nuts and seeds offer protein and fat which convert to energy. This makes nuts and seeds perfect snack foods.

Cacao– Cacao contains the highest concentration of antioxidants of any food in the world. By weight, cacao has more antioxidants then red wine, blueberries, acai, pomegranates and gogi berries combined.

Maple Syrup- Maple syrup is naturally processed sweetner from maple trees, it is only 65 percent sucrose and much less destructive to the body’s natural mineral balance.

Raw Agave Nectar- Use in moderation, but useful when a sweetener is needed and what is great about this sweetener is that it is a low glycemic sweetner. Translation- it won’t spike your blood sugar.

Dates- Dates are a good source of fiber, an excellent source of easily digested carbohydrates. Dates are among the most alkaline of foods, and contain a special type of soluble fiber called beta-D- glucan which has been shown to decrease the body’s absorption of cholesterol and slow or delay absorption of glucose in the small intestine, thus helping to keep blood sugar levels even.

Love:

I love these little nuggets of love. They are great when you just need a little something and they work well into my eating for health lifestyle. The template for these balls come from one of my favorite cookbooks ‘The Kind Diet’ by Alicia Silverstone. Sometimes you JUST NEED A TREAT! Treat yourself- Enjoy!