Snack Happy With Bliss Balls:

by Carole Fogarty

What a better way to be kinder to yourself than by snacking happy. Treats that are deeply

nourishing and more importantly bring an instant smile to your face.

I just happen to believe that bliss balls are the healthiest and yummiest snacks in the whole wide

world.

drspam’s bliss ball photo’s

Bliss balls are easy to make (I promise)

There’s no cooking, no fussing and no lengthy preparation time. They are literally a no

brainer. Children could even make them.

Simply throw your ingredients into the blender, wiz away and then roll into balls. Some bliss

ball recipes don’t even use a blender – simply chop, mix and roll.

Recipe One: Chocolate (cacoa) and Cashew Bliss Ball: 1/2 to 1 cup of cashews blended until smooth ( or you can cheat and buy cashew butter)

2 tablespoons of agave nectar (a natural sweetener extracted from the Mexican agave plant) or

swap for honey or rice syrup

1 tspn vanilla extract

4 – 8 dates (to your taste)

2 tablespoons organic cacoa

Optional: roll in coconut

Recipe two: Coconut and Almond Bliss ball:

1 cup of raw almonds

1/2 cup of sunflower kernels

A small handful of pitted dates

A small handful of sultanas

2 – 4 tablespoons of honey

Roll in desiccated coconut (what the heck, add some coconut into the bliss ball as well)

Recipe three: Sesame Bliss Balls:

I borrowed this recipe from Deepak Chopra’s newsletter. Deepak explains that the sesame bliss

balls promote a healthy digestion and purify the body – mind.

1 cup toasted sesame seeds

½ cup golden raisins or regular raisins

2 teaspoons ground ginger powder

2 inches fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1½ teaspoons ground cardamon

2½ tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) (I use and prefer ghee most of the time for my cooking)

Recipe four: Tahini Bliss balls:

These are one of my favourites bliss balls with a rougher surface. The best part is no blender.

1 cup of rolled oats

1/2 cup of tahini

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

2 – 4 tablespoons of honey

My Secret To Yummy Bliss Balls:

Quality ingredients. Quality ingredients. Quality ingredients

Organic is best with pesticide free being second best. The taste is better and the nutritional value higher.

Protein Power Balls

Posted by Teresa Cutter on Monday, September 19, 2011 · 74 Comments

This recipe is a simplified version from my 80/20 cookbook that only takes 5 minutes to make. I

normally make up a batch beginning of the week because it’s a fantastic grab and go snack or

mini power meal if I’m rushing around or to satisfy any sugar cravings when the 4 O”Clock

munchies hit.

These protein packed power balls are a great source of complete protein that contain all the

essential amino acids needed for repair and for a healthy immune system, also a good source of

vitamin E and minerals from the almonds and fresh dates. The cinnamon adds a lovely flavour

and also helps stablilze blood sugar levels. If you can’t have nuts, I would grind up some lovely

sunflower, pumpkin and linseeds then throw them in the mix in place of the almonds. I hope you

enjoy these as much as I do.

330 g raw whole almonds

60g Healthy Chef Pure Native WPI or Organic Pea Protein

16 fresh dates, pitted

2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1 tablespoon natural vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

coconut, goji berry, cacao, nuts for rolling

Throw almonds into the food processor with cinnamon, protein powder and cocoa then process

until the mix looks crumbly.

Add dates, vanilla extract then process again until the mix starts to come together.

Add a splash of water if you need to so that mixture is soft and forms a soft ball.

Form into 14 decent sized balls.

Roll in coconut or any other of my suggested coatings and store in the fridge until you feel like a

snack or quick meal on the run.

Store in the fridge for upto 4 weeks if they last that long.

Nutrition per cookie: makes 14 total

Protein: 8.2 g protein

Carbs: 7.6 g

Total Fat: 12 g

Saturated: 0.9 g

Fibre: 2.8 g

kilojoules: 703

Calories: 168

Ingredients

1½ cups walnuts

¾ cup plain instant oats (GF if needed)

½ cup raisins

1 cup pitted dates

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 tablespoon organic blackstrap molasses

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

½ cup dark chocolate chips

1 tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions

1. Soak the dates in warm water for 30 minutes, drain.

2. Place the oats, walnuts, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg together in a food processor and

blend until finely ground.

3. Add the soaked dates and raisins and blend again about one minute more, until the

mixture is well incorporated.

4. Add the molasses and maple syrup and blend again for another minute or so.

5. The mixture should be nice and sticky and hold together, if it is too dry add a few drops

of water and mix again.

6. With clean, wet hands, roll the mixture into 1½-inch balls. (having your hands slightly

wet stops the mixture from sticking to your hands!)

7. Place balls on a baking sheet and put in the freezer for 30 minutes to set.

8. After balls have set, heat coconut oil and chocolate chips at very low heat in a saucepan

until it becomes a chocolate sauce.

9. Roll each ball in the chocolate sauce to cover and place back on the baking sheet. (just a

warning this can be a tad messy, expect to have very chocolaty fingers!)

10. Once all balls are coated, place back in the freezer for 30 minutes to set.

11. Coconut and Almond Bliss Balls

12. Makes 12 medium sized Bliss Balls

13. ½ cup almond meal

5 TBS almond nut butter

½ cup tahini

8 drops liquid stevia

1 cup chopped nuts, almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, hazelnuts

½ cup coconut flakes

¼ cup sesame seeds plus extra for coating

14. Place almond meal, coconut and nuts into food processor and mix

Add stevia, almond nut butter and tahini and continue to mix until combined

Remove and roll into balls on a flat tray

Place extra sesame seeds in a bowl and roll balls to coat the surface

Refrigerate

1 C almonds

1 C raisins

1 tsp. cinnamon

Directions

Rinse the raisins and almonds with some water. Toss them in a food processor with the

cinnamon. Whirl away! When sufficiently mixed, form into ball or bar shapes. Enjoy!

Makes about 12 balls (serving size: two) or 6 bars (serving size: one).

Ingredients

Popcorn Balls:

Nonstick cooking spray 1 bag plain microwave popcorn 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar 1/2 cup honey 1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt

Decorations:

Melted chocolate Rainbow sprinkles Chocolate sprinkles Mini chocolate chips Chopped nuts Special equipment: Lollipop sticks or skewers

Directions

Grease a large mixing bowl and baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Cook the popcorn

according to packaging instructions and dump into the prepared mixing bowl. Combine the

brown sugar, honey and butter in a medium heavy pot and cook over medium heat, stirring

constantly until it boils. Continue to cook, stirring only occasionally, to prevent it from sticking,

until a sugar thermometer inserted reaches 300 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Turn off the heat

and add the baking soda and salt, stirring rapidly. Immediately pour the caramel over the

popcorn, tossing to coat. Cool until the mixture is cool enough for handling, about 5 minutes.

Using a bowl of water to dampen hands, shape the popcorn into balls about 3 1/2 inches in

diameter. Place the caramel popcorn balls on the prepared baking sheet and pierce with a lollipop

stick or skewer.

Then drizzle the popcorn balls with the melted chocolate and decorate.

Cookies

1/2 banana, mashed (73g)

1 tbsp Peanut Butter

1/3 c dry oatmeal

No sugar added hot cocoa mix, powder

1/2 scoop (15g) Isopure Low Carb Protein powder, Dutch Chocolate

1/4 tsp Baking Powder

2-4 packets non-calorie sweetner (Splenda)

Directions

*Preheat Oven 300 degrees. Mix all ingredients together. Bake for approximately 10 minutes