Did you know that raw cacao aka raw chocolate is a super food? Yes, chocolate is good for you! … Well in its raw form. Cacao is jam-packed full of nutritional compounds such as vitamins, minerals, protein and antioxidants that can:
- Help promote cardiovascular health,
- Neutralize free radicals,
- Calm the nervous system and
- Balance out blood glucose levels.
These little balls of goodness are the perfect 3pm pick-me-ups!Ingredients: (makes around 15 balls)
- 1 cup pitted organic dates
- ¼ cup hulled tahini
- 2 tablespoons local natural honey
- 2 tablespoons melted organic coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon nut butter (I used Whole Earth Cashew Nut, Hazelnut and Peanut)
- ½ cup ground almonds
- 3 tablespoons raw organic cacao
- 1 tablespoon protein powder (I used Sevenhills Organics hemp protein powder)
- Desiccated coconut or coconut chips to coat Cacao balls
Method:
Blitz the dates in a food processor until they form a paste, add tahini, honey, nut butter, and melted coconut oil and blitz again. Then transfer the mixture to a bowl and stir in ground almonds, cacao and protein powder until combined. Roll the mixture into about 15 bite sized balls and coat with dessicated coconut. Pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes or until firm (unless of course you can’t wait that long!). Enjoy!I have been enjoying my Cacao bliss balls with a cup of herbal tea each afternoon. They are the perfect guilt free treat to get you through till dinner!
Notes:
My tablespoons are heaped, naturally. You will find all the ingredients you need at your local health food store. With bliss balls, it’s really about getting the right consistency by combining wet ingredients with dry ingredients. So if you don’t have the exact ingredients in this recipe then you can easily replace them with something similar!
