Throughout the years Bliss Balls have made it onto my frequent eating list. Here’s one of my favourite. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.
Good Fats Your typical bliss ball contains nuts and seeds as a base, giving you a good dose of healthy fats. The great thing with nuts and seeds is that each variety has its own unique flavour, texture and health benefits – creamy almonds for instance provide antioxidant-rich vitamin E, and buttery walnuts are a good plant source of anti-inflammatory omega-3, and essential fatty acid which also promotes skin and hair health.
Fibre Thanks to their nut, seed and dried fruit content (like coconut and dates), bliss balls tend to be high in fibre, a nutrient with so many health benefits. Not only will fibre keep you fuller for longer, it breaks down slowly, so helps keep your blood sugar stable. Fibre is essential for good health gut, helping to keep you regular. Certain plant fibres can also serve as ‘prebiotics’, compounds that serve as a feeding ground for probiotics, your good gut bacteria.
Protein With the right ingredients – like nuts and protein powder, a bliss ball can be a protein-rich snack or dessert, helping to keep your blood sugar stable between meals. It also can make an energizing and sustaining pre-workout snack, without being too heavy on your stomach.
Portion Control …One and you’re done! Although we do love making our own bliss balls, buying one from the health food store or café while you’re out and about makes it easier to stop at one! And with ingredients like cacao, coconut, vanilla or dates, your sweet tooth will be satisfied the healthy way. A much healthier alternative to something from the vending machine or a café muffin the size of your face.
Real Ingredients Compare the ingredients in a highly processed, packaged snack or dessert from the supermarket to a handmade bliss ball from the health food store. A good quality bliss ball on the other hand, has a short list of familiar, wholefood ingredients – just coconut, almonds, sunflower seeds, dates and Dutch cocoa. A nourishing snack that tastes like a treat!
CHOCOLATE, CRANBERRY AND PISTACHIO BLISS BALLS
1/2 cup dried cranberries
5 medjool dates, seeds removed
1/2 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup natural pistachios*
1 tablespoon cacao or cocoa
Place the ingredients into your food processor and blend at high speed until the mixture resembles a sticky crumb. Roll the mixture into balls and place into the fridge to set.
Enjoy.
*to make these nut free increase the coconut to 2 cups and omit the pistachios.
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