Day 15: Bliss Balls

Being mindful in the kitchen making my raw chocolate treats:

It’s been a long time since I’ve made any raw treats. My last batch ran out a few weeks ago, and I’ve been dipping into the biscuit tin and chocolate box way too much.

Not good.

I need to replenish my treat stash quickly in order to have them on hand for when I have a sweet craving.

It’s time to say Bye Bye biscuit tin and beloved Galaxy Minstrels, and Hello Helen’s Raw Chocolate Bliss Balls.

Bliss Balls were actually my first step into the wonderful world of home-made raw treats. After realising that sugar was not my friend, I’ve been making variations of these for a few years now to satisfy my sweet tooth. And it works. And they’re delicious. And nutritious.

How fabulous is that!

My fave recipe combines mixed nuts and seeds, raw cacao, vanilla powder, cinnamon, chia seeds, super-greens powder, dates, and rice syrup, with coconut oil for binding, and desiccated coconut for rolling in.

Did I mention they are absolutely yummy?

I enjoy spreading the no-sugar love too by making them for dinner parties, and giving as gifts for friends and family. I’m often asked for the recipe which is brilliant; changing the world one bliss ball at a time!

Variety is always welcome so today I wanted to make two flavours. I decided to try out a new recipe I’ve found for Sesame Power Balls. With tahini, ground almonds, almond butter, coconut, seeds, vanilla powder and rice syrup, it sounded like a recipe made in raw food heaven. And it was.

Heavenly yummy indeed.

I wanted to practice mindfulness as I made my treats. So I focused on being present, mindful and aware, as opposed to stressed, distracted and overwhelmed.

I stayed alert to my senses: the texture and smell of my yummy ingredients; watching how they bind together in my food processor; taste testing for sweetness; and the feel of rolling the mixture into balls in the palm of my hand.

I was also mindful of my breath, keeping it slow and steady throughout. And if my mind wandered off, I gently invited it back to the task at hand.

Now I have 20 little balls of deliciousness packed away in the freezer to enjoy over the next few weeks. I usually find that one is enough to satisfy my sweet tooth, although I have been known to sneak another one or two. But they’re actually quite filling and one is usually enough. Honest.

So with this in mind, my happy for today is being mindful in the kitchen when making my raw chocolate treats.

Helen’s Chocolate Bliss Balls

Helen’s Chocolate Bliss Balls:

I always keep a batch of my Bliss Balls in the freezer for when I have a sweet craving.

A delicious and nutritious snack, these beauties are sugar, dairy and wheat-free, and are packed with protein and good fats.

Perfect for those three o’clock munchies, they are also a great energy booster: bonus!

I’ve played a lot with my recipe over the years, but the one below is my staple. I sometimes add in 1 tbsp of almond butter, or 1 tbsp of maca powder, or even a couple of tbsps of juice pulp, just for fun.

Why not have a play and get creative too.  And if you do, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below…

Helen's Chocolate Bliss Balls

Ingredients:
3 handfuls of nuts (I use mixed nuts – almonds, cashews, brazils, wholenuts – but use whatever you fancy, except peanuts)
2 handfuls of seeds (again, whatever you fancy. I use a salad seed mix which includes sunflower, pumpkin, linseed/flax, sesame)
2 tbsp cacao powder
1 tbsp spiralina/barley greens/super greens (optional)
1 tsp cinnamon
10 dates – de-stoned and soaked in water for an hour
3 tbsp coconut oil (or enough to make mixture slightly moist)
1 tsp sugar alternative (I use rice syrup but you could use honey/maple syrup etc)
Few drops vanilla essence/1 tsp vanilla powder
Desiccated coconut to roll balls in

Food processor method:
Simply blitz all dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients and blitz until well mixed. Go to step 6.

By hand method:
1. Chop nuts into smaller pieces
2. Put in bowl and stir in all other dry ingredients
3. Chop dates into small pieces and add to mixture, making sure they don’t clump together
4. Gently heat coconut oil, if needed, so it becomes a liquid
5. Add to dry mixture with honey and vanilla essence and stir well
6. Roll into small balls and roll in coconut, lay out onto tray lined with greaseproof paper
7. Pop into fridge to set for a couple of hours. They also keep well in freezer, just give them half an hour to defrost a little before eating
8. Eat and enjoy!

See Day 15 for my post about my Chocolate Bliss Balls…