Food as medicine: Cacao bliss balls
I'm mad on bliss balls and make a batch most weeks because
No baking! I'm not a natural baker (can I blame my oven?), so for me this means a successfully delicious outcome every time.
They're super portable for work, school, handbag, whatever!
Once you've got a basic recipe, they're pretty customisable
They're more cost-effective than the better-quality shop-bought versions
They're more nutritious than the lesser-quality shop-bought versions
These one’s aren’t overly sweet, so they don't encourage sweet-tooth cravings
Why they're good for you
These bliss balls are full of protein (4 - 6 g per ball depending on how many you make), fibre and healthy fats.
The protein and oats will maintain your energy, and along with cinnamon, support blood sugar stability.
The healthy fats help make your hormones and neurotransmitters, and with the cacao flavonols, are highly anti-inflammatory.
The nuts / seeds / oats are fantastic sources of fibre and prebiotics, to support a healthy diversity of bacteria in your gut microbiome.
Cacao is food for the soul, right? Added bonus, the polyphenols in cacao act as anti-inflammatory antioxidants, theobromine improves mood and cognition, and the whole shebang is a prebiotic for your gut flora.
So let’s get started…
Recipe
(Makes 10 - 15 balls depending on how big you make them)
Ingredients
1.5 C almond meal
3/4 C rolled oats
1/2 C desiccated coconut
1/4 C cacao powder
1/4 C rice malt syrup
2 tbs peanut butter (or any nut butter)
2 tbs tahini
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Method
If using whole nuts, grind in a blender until you get an almond meal consistency. Add to a large bowl.
Pulse rolled oats in a blender for a finer texture (not necessary, but it makes a smoother ball). Add to a large bowl.
Add all other dry ingredients and mix to combine
Add wet ingredients (rice malt syrup, nut butter, tahini, vanilla), and mix.
Slightly wet hands and continue to mix ingredients well (a food processor could probably do this, but I don't have one!)
Using wet hands, roll balls into desired size
Store in the fridge
Variations
→ use sunflower seeds / pumpkin seeds to make this nut free, or substitute any nuts
→ add beetroot powder for an antioxidant boost (and slight Cherry Ripe flavour!)
→ if you want to get fancy, coat the balls in cacao powder / desiccated coconut / matcha powder / beetroot powder
If you make 10-15 balls, the nutritional breakdown per ball is:
Healthy fat 8-12g
Protein 4-6g
Sugars 3-5g
Fibre 1.5-2g
If you have any questions about how to support your health, hormones or fertility, please make an appointment with Jacintha to discuss
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