Spiced Bliss Balls

A few years ago, bliss ball or protein balls were everywhere, they were the go to snack for health conscious foodies. They have kind of fallen out of favour with many of the commercially made bliss balls tasting stale and rancid. The bliss balls often in glass jars in cafes and health food stores are so hard and dry that you are left wondering why you spent $4.00 on such an unfulfilling snack.

The reason why bliss balls may not be the flavour of the month anymore is because they taste best fresh and made with love. The best results are with fresh nuts, dates, extra virgin coconut oil, and quality protein powder if you need an extra boost. I know you can get pre-packs to make bliss balls but unless the packaged ingredients are fresh the end result won’t be satisfying. You are best to invest in some quality ingredients from your favourite health food store.

One of the reasons I persist in making my own bliss balls is because it allows me to create them according to my own tastes. I do not like to many dates and they need to be gluten free. I love these spiced bliss balls because they are full of the aromatic spices that warm the soul.

Bliss balls are best kept in the fridge, at room temperature they will go stale and the oils will taste rancid pretty quickly. Especially in warm humid Australian summer.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup of cashews

• 6 Medjool dates, soaked on boiling water for 10 minutes

• ½ cup of almond meal or almonds (you can replace with protein powder if you wish)

• ½ cup of organic desiccated coconut

• ½ cup of extra virgin coconut oil, melted

• ¼ psyllium husks

• ¼ cup of raw honey or maple syrup

Spice mix: reserve 1 teaspoon for coating the bliss balls

• 2 teaspoons of turmeric latte mix (I use one by Morlife)

• 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

• ½ teaspoon of nutmeg

• 1 teaspoon of ground ginger

Coating mix:

• 1/4 cup of desiccated coconut

• ¼ cup of pistachios

• 1 teaspoon of spice mix

Instructions:

Place cashews, dates, almonds, desiccated coconut, psyllium husks, coconut oil, maple syrup or raw honey and spice mix into a blender and blend until well combined but not a paste.

With your hands roll the mixture into balls. The coconut oil will make them look feel oily, don’t panic as the coating and refrigeration will dry them out so you don’t want to skimp on the oil. Besides its good for you.

Place desiccated coconut, pistachios, and spice mix into the blend, process until finely chopped and well combined.

Roll the bliss balls into the coating mix. Refrigerate for a couple of hours so they are firm and don’t crumble when you bite into them.