Bliss Balls

I am not use to raw food yet... apart from fruits and nuts. I have always preferred toasted or warm food even though when it is comes to the salad. I normally would jazz the crunchy salad leaves with warm roasted veggies, grilled meat or warm beans. 

I  also prefer to toast nuts and usually throw the bag of unsalted raw nuts into a warm oven and toast them in a low temp until they are crunchy and toasted. One I find that they taste divine and totally irresistible.....secondly I feel they retain the freshness for a longer period of time. 

  So when I recently came across this bliss balls or energy balls as it is also referred as,
  I wasn't  sure what would it taste like. It is basically based on the concept of gathering and nurturing  food in a raw state. Nuts and dried fruits have their own taste in the raw form so just teaming them together with a hint of coconut oil and sweetness of honey or maple syrup is a good source of energy. 

These bliss balls can be easily mistaken as ladoos as they look like. So don't get smitten by the  appearance  of these balls. These bliss balls have a tempting look and do resemble the very much like the  ladoos but the tastes polls apart. These energy balls have an acquired taste. It is raw, less in sugar. Honestly  I was so tempted by the look and the lightly rolled desiccated  coconut over it, I couldn't stop myself from rolling a batch one with raw nuts and other with strawberries.

If you are use to grabbing it from health food section and would like to add it to your pantry, then it is a must and definitely a good idea to make and store it. I have realised that the amount of energy you get from snacking these balls is amazing especially after a workout. I was bit apprehensive about the taste, so I offered my kids reluctantly. To my surprise they both found it tasty despite low in sugar. Strawberry bliss ball was more preferred than the other one.

The  Strawberry bliss ball is adapted from Fresh mag that adds an interesting twist to it. It has got the natural sweetness from the dates combined with tartness of the berries and nutty texture from the raw nuts. If you have made these balls before or just made it using this recipe. Please let me know your thoughts.

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Strawberry bliss balls

by Shibani of Pearlsofeast July-16-2016

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup fresh dates, pitted
• 1/2 cup raw cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup Strawberries hulled
• desiccated coconut for coating
• lemon zest

1. Process cashew in a food processor until powdered. Transfer them to a bowl. 
2. Add dates to the processor and pulse them until finely chopped. Add strawberry and pulse until chopped.
3. Tip the above mix to the bowl of cashew powder, add almond meal and lemon zest. Combine all the ingredients 
4. Place coconut in a bowl. Roll a tablespoon of the above mix into balls. Toss in coconut to coat. Chill for 2 to 3 hours before serving. Store in the airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week.

PS- If it becomes soft to roll the ball, add extra desiccated coconut.

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Raw Cashew and Almond bliss ball

 By Shibani of Pearlsofeast July-16-2016

Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw Cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup Almond meal
• 3 tablespoon desiccated coconut
• 1teaspoon honey/maple syrup
• 1tablespoon Organic coconut oil
• Desiccated coconut extra for rolling

1. Process the raw cashew in a food processor to a dry powder. Add almond meal, desiccated coconut, honey and melted coconut oil.
2. Combine all the ingredients and roll them into a walnut sized ball. 
3. Spread some desiccated coconut in a plate. roll the above balls in the coconut and refrigerate it for 3 to 4 hours before snacking. 
4. It stays fresh over a week in the fridge in a airtight container.

PS- I found coconut oil was too overpowering so you can reduce it to 1/2 tablespoon and increase the honey. For extra flavour add lemon zest or crushed cardamoms.