Chocolate Balls. That Got Your Attention, Right?

Sharing an awesome TREAT idea with you. You will thank me.

I meant to make homemade larabars yesterday and didn't have wax or parchment paper, which threw a wrench into my plan. So I wound up rolling my recipe into balls and coating them in cocoa powder instead. 

My kids call them chocolate balls and can't get enough of them. So I'm making more today. 

Yes, this takes time (about an hour to prepare) and yes they get eaten quickly. But they are made from whole food ingredients and delicious. Worth it. Ready?

You'll need a food processor. I use the quisenart mini prep. Fill it 3/4 full of fresh, pitted dates. Yep, I said dates. I get mine from the farmers market (for you valley peeps it's Calabasas on Saturday mornings). Trader Joe's and other stores will carry dates too. Add 1-2 Tb natural peanut or almond butter. Yesterday I used almond, today I'll use peanut. And no, it doesn't matter what your preference is regarding salty or chunky. What matters is that you're not using that crapppy peanut butter with  partially hydrogenated oils and other additives. If you are, stop reading this as you don't deserve this recipe. 

Start chopping in the food processor. You may need to start and stop and change directions a few times. Once the dates are somewhat chopped,  add 1 Tb of ground flax seed. Keep chopping. It takes some guesswork but you can keep adding small amounts of flax as you chop. Probably up to 2-3 Tb total, till you have a finely chopped, sticky mess. 

In a small bowl, pour in some cocoa powder. I used Trader Joe's sipping chocolate as it is sweetened with sugar but still very wholesome. Don't you dare use traditional hot chocolate mix. Because that's also crap. And if you don't understand why that is so, I have a dietitian I can refer you to. 

Roll your date mixture into tiny balls with your hands. Pretend it's Play-dough. They should be about the size of a dime. You'll find that any bigger is just too big when you go to eat it. 

Drop the balls into the cocoa powder about 6 at a time (or more depending on the size of your bowl) and roll them around to cover in cocoa. Remove and place in a Pyrex lined with whatever you got...plastic wrap, wax paper, parchment paper or even a paper towel. Do this till you're finished with the date mixture and stick in the refrigerator. 

That's it. Eat and enjoy. I have not done a nutritional analysis for you, nor do I care to. Here's a common sense analysis though, which is much more important:

Dates, nuts, flax seed and cocoa powder - highly nutritious foods that taste great together and satisfy a sweet craving. Good sources of heart-healthy fats, vegetarian protein, fiber and carbohydrate. Have it for breakfast. Snack on it. Have some for dessert. Anytime of day. Whatever. 

If you're still reading (and I thank you if you are!), try it and let me know what you think. And if you're reading this far just to find out what wine to drink with it, then I'd suggest a Mourvèdre, jammy Zin or port. 

Now go do something healthy today.

Cheers,

Your Tipsy Dietitian