Monday 8 July 2013

Chocolate date balls

This recipe is a great way to make use of the leftover almond bits after making almond milk. There is nothing better than sitting down with a glass of almond milk and one of these balls.

What you will need:

1 cup dates
1/2 cup almond meal (you can use bought meal if you didnt make almond milk)
1/2 cup almond butter
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup dessicated coconut
2 tablespoons chia seeds
Optional extras include puffed quinoa or rice to add texture, 2 teaspoons cinnamon or crunchy cocoa nibs.

Soak dates in warm water while preparing the rest of the mix in a big bowl. Mix all ingredient together.






Drain the water from the almonds and place in a blender or food processor with a quarter of the other ingredients and blend. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix together until smooth.
Pour some extra dessicated coconut onto a board. Roll mixture into balls and cover in the coconut. You could also roll them in Cinnamon or dip them in melted dark chocolate. Then place them in the fridge to set for half an hour and enjoy :)



Almond Milk

Almond milk is a fantastic and very healthy alternative to regular milk. It tastes delicious, is lactose free and is full of wonderful nutrients. Best of all it is just so simple to make!

All you will need is:
1 cup of almonds
3 cups of water
Sweetener of your choice (stevia, honey, agave for example).
And optional additions for extra flavour such as vanilla or cinnamon

Soak almonds in water overnight. Drain the water and rinse thoroughly. Then place the almonds and water into the blender and blend for a few minutes until the water turns a nice white milky colour.




Place either a strainer or muslin cloth into a jug or bowl. Pour mixture into strainer/cloth and squeeze mixture until all the liquid is separated from the nut meal.



Add sweetener to taste. There you have it, your home made almond milk.


At the end of this you should be left with almond meal which I like to use to make chocolate date balls yum!