April's Energy Balls....Healthy Coconut Treats

These days it really is all about energy - we seem to be running on empty, even when we are full or feeling drained, although we do so much to stop the leaks. Of course a huge amount of our energy (all of it?) must come from our food, and when we are eating things made from machines - well, let's just say that warm and fuzzy feeling is missing.

If you would like to try a dairy free, sugar free, wheat free - yummy treat, try these little energy balls. I have a more involved recipe listed below, but really, it you have a food processor, just use a handful of almonds, a few dates and figs and make a paste. Then roll into balls and sprinkle on some coconut.

It couldn't be easier to treat yourself....and lets face it - you deserve the best (say it often and believe it).

April’s Energy Balls

2-3 cups of chopped dates, figs or apricots and other dried fruit
¾ cup of crushed almonds, cashew or walnuts
2-3 tablespoons of sugar free strawberry jam
Maple Syrup (about 1-2 tablespoons)
Dessicated Coconut (1 cup)
½ to ¾ cup Tahini or Almond Butter

This recipe can be made differently each time you make it according to the ingredients that you have on hand. Also, the measurements can not be exact as sometimes the dates, figs and apricots may be a little drier and will therefore need more of the ‘wet’ ingredients to hold them together.

I chop all dates, figs and apricots by hand as fine as possible and combine in a large bowl (if you have a food processor, use this). Next I put in the nuts, jam and maple syrup. Mix all of these together loosely by mixing lightly, then add the tahini or almond butter slowly- seeing how much you will need to make the dry ingredients stick together.

Tahini works best for this recipe because it is not sweet and does not make Coconut balls overly sweet, and also because it is less thick then the almond butter. However, I have made it with both and it has worked out well. Even try a combination to give a nice nutty taste too.

Once all those ingredients are mixed in, see if you can squeeze a small teaspoon full into a ball- if this is done easily then do not add any thing else. If it is too wet, add more dates and if too dry add more jam and/or tahini.

Now that you can make little balls with this, roll them onto a plate covered with the coconut until each one is coated entirely. Then place onto a separate pan or serving dish.

These look very nice, are a balanced, healthy snack and are quite tasty with a cup of dandelion coffee. I serve them with seasonal fruit such as fresh strawberries or orange sections on a platter for nibbles at the end of a meal or at any party. Enjoy!

Or drop by my market stall in Bantry or Skibbereen to have a treat....can't wait to see you,

April

A bowl of Energy Balls.....yumm! 

Sugar Free Easter Treats - Coconut Fudge

Last night was a late night for me, I was up until all hours making a few Easter treats for the children – I  ended up with some Coconut Balls (raw figs, dates, nuts, almond butter), Fig Newtons, Cashew & Date Bars and Coconut Fudge.

The one thing I have mentioned to people time and again about the way we eat, is how we are never deprived. How I don’t miss sugar or any other addictive substance because we eat so much better and are quite satisfied with our food.

There is a way around everything and a way to have your cake (or cookies or dessert) without  adding or using anything nasty in the recipe. This is just good wholesome food the way it was intended to be – homemade of course.

So – for a treat at any time of the year and something that I would consider to be far superior in taste – try some Coconut Fudge. It can be made with any number of things, we like to use fresh organic orange zest, but I also like lime and lemon too or sometimes a few berries.

The taste of coconut and orange is refreshing without the guilt or after taste (I never like the way my body felt even an hour after eating sugar)  of eating sugar. This fudge also nice crumbled over a cake or some other dessert as a topping.

Coconut Fudge

1 package creamed coconut

3 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons grated orange zest

To make coconut fudge is easy! All you need to do is melt the creamed coconut in a small saucepan over a low heat. As it melts, add in the honey and keep stirring gently to ensure it is all melted.

Once there is only liquid in the saucepan turn off the heat and stir in the orange zest. You may also use lime or lemon if desired. For a little extra citrus taste add 1 tablespoon orange juice.

Pour out this coconut cream into a shallow dish (I cover the bottom in parchment paper) and place in the fridge to cool until it is set. As it cools it will harden – you can then cut it into pieces – just like any other fudge.

This tastes great and the best part – it’s sugar free!

April

Cooled down and ready to cut - Coconut Fudge

Spiced Plum Sauce

Yesterday we came home from the market with all kinds of goodies and ended up with several different kinds of plums (red and purple, green gages, Damson).  Of course when buying organic fruit it doesn't last long, so I had to jump into more jam making early this morning. 

It is funny how I never intend to do anything in particular, the fruit is on hand and then thoughts form in my head - this is the right combination or this fruit will taste great with these spices. Today it was exactly like that - I had all of these juicy overripe plums, and could smell something spicy going with them.

It did start out as a jam, and I did add apple to the mixture still trying to make every effort to get these concoctions to thicken, however I ended up with a spiced plum sauce, which tastes delicious. My efforts do seem to pay off, when I just go with it! LOL

I chopped up about 5 cups of plums and added 2 small apples, plus the juice of 1 lemon (because it always seems like the right thing to do?) and 1/2 cup of apple concentrate. The plums immediately dissolved into mostly water and I had to let the mixture bubble away for a lot longer then usual.

Plums and apple mixture

Half way through the cooking I added 1/2 teaspoon full of cinnamon and then a sachet bag of whole cloves. For the life of me I could not see myself fishing them out at the end - so I placed a large tablespoon of cloves inside a piece of muslin cloth tied it up and threw it into the plum jam. 

Sachet of Cloves

It smelled great! Very spicy stuff in the end - and will be nice to complement other dishes. I had some on toast and my mouth is still slightly tinged with the taste of it. I could see this being used as a sauce over egg fried jasmine rice and fish...Yumm! 

Then I was back to our feast weekend - where everyone gets to choose their favourite meals and French toast appeared to have won for the lunch time treat. I don't normally do anything fancy when I make this, just duck eggs, cinnamon, nutmeg, goat's milk for the mixture, soak spelt bread (it was cinnamon date bread) and cook this over a hot pan.

Soaking the bread....

Today I served the hot French toast with my homemade apple sauce, goat's butter and maple syrup. Needless to say, there wasn't anything left over! It was yummy and the kids got their treat. This is such an easy meal to make (once in a while) which everyone loves. 

Nearly done....! 

Last night I also made a big batch of Coconut Date balls to have on hand as snacks for the weekend, because I am not buying anything ready made from a shop of any kind (no more date bars etc) - not when we can make our own. These are little energy bars and taste great with chopped figs, dates, tahini, jam, ground nuts all rolled in coconut - lets see how long they last!

Coconut Date Balls with dandelion coffee...

Well, off to sort out the herb garden, enjoy your long weekend,

April