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! 

Nut Butter Cookies

I came home late tonight from a day out and of course, everyone was feeling a little peckish after our long day. No one was really overly hungry (we had taken food with us for our picnic) but you know how it often is....

You would like something to nibble on, without being a disaster or going off the rails. Of course, in my house now, there is no room for a disaster, because absolutely everything must be made from scratch or we have nothing. Once I was in the house and getting everyone settled - my mind was already turning over the possibilities of what I could make quickly enough...

I wanted to have a light snack, tasty, nice with a dandelion coffee yet filling and still a treat of some kind. My thoughts were going to some kind of cookie - and I knew just the right one to make.

Going back to my basics of baking guidelines, this time I used 2 cups of oats instead of flour, some baking soda, a little salt, and it took off from there - I put all of those things into a deep bowl and looked around the kitchen for something quick to add in.

Nut butter cookie dough

Next went in a 1/2 cup of flour, then some cinnamon, 2 mashed bananas instead of an egg (for texture) and 1 cup of nut butter. I combined half tahini and half cashew nut butter because those were both on hand and needed to be used up. 

After I started mixing this up I added more liquid as needed, in total about 6 tablespoons of milk, and 4 tablespoons of maple syrup. This mixture was stirred around just enough to make sure the flour had been well blended in and then dropped onto a baking sheet covered in parchment paper.

Nut butter cookies ready for the oven

They were in the oven for less then 20 minutes - and before anyone knew it, we had a batch of nut butter cookies to go with a hot cup of coffee. This is a tasty and fairly healthy snack too, it can be made sweeter if wanted or you can omit the maple syrup all together and just add more milk or water to get the cookie dough consistency.

All in all, to make these cookies it took less than 30 minutes, they are so easy and straight forward to make. The best part about this type of recipe is it's versatility - whatever nut butter you have on hand or want to make, can be used in the cookies. 

Right now, I am working my way through a couple of them, so good!

Have a lovely day,

April

Nut butter cookies - just out of the oven!

Just Go Nuts!

Today I am making some things for our party next week - I like to be a little organized, but it is also so much fun to be busy in the kitchen cooking, creating the foods we love. Even though I am fasting for my Master Cleanse and I can't taste these treats, my sense of smell is very keen, so I have a very good idea when they turn out well.

I decided to go through my list of requests for our feast and see which items I could make this week and store, as well, many things taste a little better after a few days or need the time to 'mature'. Homemade foods also taste a little better then shop bought mostly because they are made using fresher ingredients.

Starting with cashews I thought to try two different ways to make them. The first one is to soak the cashews over a day in a light brine solution of sea salt and water, then at the end of the day to roast them in a hot oven for about 20 minutes, adding more salt if needed and cooling. So far, this batch is still soaking, so I will let you know how they turn out tomorrow.

Cashews soaking in a light brine coating

With some other cashew pieces I wanted to just throw them into the oven with a tiny bit of oil (I used sunflower oil) and sea salt and see how they turn out. I have done this many times before to good results, however, we would still go out and buy ready salted cashews! I know, doesn't make any sense at all.

Oil, sea salt, brush for coating the cashews

Next,  I used a Christmas recipe for honey cinnamon roasted almonds, I have been making these for a few years now and they always taste lovely. For the almonds, I roast them first in the oven, while I make a syrup from water, honey, oil, cinnamon, sea salt and a pinch of pepper.

Once these are out of the oven I simply coat the hot almonds with the hot syrup, stir and turn a few times and then allow to cool on a piece of parchment paper. Often they stick together, but that is usually no problem as they are gobbled up so quickly!

Honey cinnamon roasted almonds cooling on parchment 

For a feast, I like to have snacks, treats and things in the house ready for any impromptu gourmet needs and roasted nuts are so easily made at home in a few minutes. One thing that I will note - the smell is delightful as they come out of the oven, nothing like anything from a package - it is deep, rich and full as if the nut itself is bursting open. 

Homemade food just doesn't compare to anything else! 

Have a healthy day,

April

Lightly salted roasted cashews