Delicious Bliss Balls

Well hello and a huge welcome back to everyone after the mammoth summer holidays – which in Singapore just seem to go forever.  With the variation in school calendars, it can easily be two months before everyone is back in town.  If you missed my last post (there has only been one over the past two months so quite honestly you haven’t missed much) we went to Ibiza and lived it up (whoop whoop) and pretended that we were younger and hipper than we actually are (think zooming around in a manual car introducing the kids to the world of Space and Ministry of Sound via the car stereo…’come on kids…hands in the air’).   I got carried away with the Ibiza vibe and fell in love with floaty boho clothes which now seem glaringly unwearable in Singapore* and fun was had by all.

So with summer holidays over and the kids starting back at school I thought it might be a good time to whip up some super yummy easy to make balls of bliss.  Some people call them protein balls, but honestly, in some of these recipes I’m not entirely sure how much protein is in them – but I do know this – they are a hit with the kids and are on the healthy side of the snacking spectrum and most importantly, they go well with a cup of coffee in the morning for me.

I’ve given you four of my favourite recipes but my top pick has to go to the carrot ones.  Super moist and delicious. I generally make half the recipe and make more than one flavour so that we have a few to choose from but the recipes are for the full amount.

Carrot Bliss Balls

1 medium sized carrot (roughly chopped)
10 medjool dates (seeds removed)
1 cup cashews (make sure they are not salted)
1 cup desiccated coconut

Place the cashews and dates in the food processor and blitz until they are fine crumbs.  Add the coconut and carrot and blitz until the mixture comes together.  At first it looks like it will be very dry but give it a couple of minutes and the moisture from the carrots will work it’s magic and you’ll have a pliable dough to shape into balls.  Roll the mixture into balls and dust with extra desiccated coconut if you wish.

The Original Bliss Balls

1 cup dates
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup desiccated coconut
1 tbsp tahini
2 tsp cocoa
sesame seeds or desiccated coconut for rolling in

Put everything in the food processor and blitz until the mixture is moist and comes together.  Roll into balls and coat in sesame seeds or coconut to finish.

Choc Nut Bliss Balls

1 cup raw almonds
10 medjool dates (seeds removed)
2 tbsp almond butter
1 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp cocoa (unsweetened)
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt

Blitz the almonds and dates until they are a medium course texture.  Add the other ingredients and blitz until the mixture comes together.  Shape into balls.

Peanut Butter Honey Bliss Balls

1 cup rolled oats
2/3 cup desiccated coconut
1/2 cup of peanut butter (you can use crunchy or smooth)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/3 cup honey
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tsp vanilla

I like the oats to be a little fine so roughly chop them with a knife until they have a finer texture.  If you like your oats as they are, skip this step.  Put everything into a bowl and mix with a spoon until the mixture comes together.  Roll into balls.