Cherry Chocolate Energy Balls

Mmm I love cherries! They are for sure my favourite fruit and if I could, I woud eat them every single day! Well I guess I almost do, because I found frozen cherries at Super Store and now I have cherries in a lot of my morning smoothies!

I got the idea to make these from Alternate Roots Organic, they make about 5 different energy balls and their chocolate cherry ones are by far my favourite, and in close second is the mint chocolate chip. After buying them from the store a couple times I thought “I could probably make these!” So I got looking on the internet and came across a link to “Make your own Lara Bars”, that got my attention because the energy balls were basically just that – round Lara Bars. So I clicked on the link and wow, they were super simple to make too! Just almonds, dates and raisins, really basic ingredients that I already had in my cupboard.

I of course made some changes to the recipe wanting it to be a chocolate cherry flavour, but that was easy enough! I decided to add some cashews in there along with the almonds to make it a little more nutty flavored. For me I think just almonds would have been too bitter tasting. Also I added some cocoa powder for the chocolatiness and I substituted the raisins for cherries! Presto chango! Yummy cherry chocolate balls!

I would highly recommend using a food processor for this recipe and not using a standard blender or magic bullet. The mixture becomes very thick and could burn out your motor, even in my Vita Mix it stalled out and I had to give her time to cool off.

Ingredients - 12 balls 

½  cup almonds

½ cup cashews

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ tsp vanilla powder

10 dates, de pitted

¼ cup dried cherries

In a high speed blender or food processor, pulse almonds, cashews, cocoa powder and vanilla into a flour. Add the dates and pulse until well blended. Stir in dried cherries and form into balls. Refrigerate for 20 mins. Enjoy!

Vegan Chocolate Cherry Raspberry Cream Truffles

I love the way a woman’s mind works. Especially mine.

Like most of my fellow females (I assume), I deal with very conflicting ideas in my head. One minute I think to myself I really should eat more raw fruits and veggies and cut back on my processed foods (chips are the devil) and fats. Ever since I got back from Mexico I have wanted to do a 21 day raw challenge but have been putting it off. I have great intentions but lack the motivation right now. Hopefully one day in the near future I will just get off my ass and do it, until then I get to eat these awesome treats!!

That’s where the conflicting ideas come in, one minute I am thinking about eating fruit and salads the next minute I am thinking about lasagna and pizza bites. And scrolling through Fragrant Vanilla Cake’s blog doesn’t help my situation either. That’s where I went yesterday and unfortunately/fortunately I came across one of her newest posts: Raw Raspberry Rose Cream Truffels. Cue the angels singing, I have found Holy Grail of desserts. They looked amazing and I couldn’t wait to try them for myself. I quickly made a grocery list and thought about what I was going to do differently than what she had laid out (like no rose water). Forget about wanting to cut back on treats, fats and food that isn’t healthy, I had a mission!!

I didn’t stray too far from what Amy did, but I made some slight changes to fit my tastes. Such as I took out the rose water and added cherries. At first I tasted the cream with just the raspberries and it just seemed a little blah, so thankfully I had frozen cherries in my freezer! Because the raspberries are so tart they had trouble over powering the nutty flavour of the cashews, so by adding the cherries added the perfect amount of sweetness that really evened out the flavour. Also I used dates because I didn’t have any of the nectar she was talking about, and I feel better about using dates because its one less processed thing I am putting in my body! Finally the chocolate sauce. I decided to use just chocolate chips and coconut milk because I am lazy. Its only two ingredients and I really love the taste of the vegan chocolate chips!

I couldn’t have been happier with how they turned out! They are the perfect treat, they are light and creamy, not too dense, not too sweet and they taste similar to ice cream. Devon really liked them, as wel as all the ladies I work with. Not that any of them are picky, but its good to know other people love what I make too!

 

To see Amy’s original post click here.



Some chocolate covered ones with some plain. Remember, please no judging my pictures, it's how they taste that matters!!

 Raspberry Cherry Filling:
9 majool dates, diced + 1/4 cup filtered water
1 1/2 cups raw cashew pieces (soaked for 4 hours or overnight)
1/4 cup filtered water
1/4 tsp sea salt
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil (warmed to liquid)
1/2 cup organic frozen cherries
1 cup organic raspberries

Chocoalte
1 1/2 vegan chocoalte chips
1/2 cup coconut milk


Combine dates and water into a high power blender and blend on high until smooth. Add cashews, water, sea salt, vanilla and blend until smooth again. With the processor running, add the coconut oil and process another minute until well incorporated. Add the raspberries and process until smooth. 
 Pour into a flat Tupperware container (it cools off more evenly than a bowl), and place in the freezer until firm, but scoopable.  Like scooping out ice cream, dig into the mixture and form tbsp sized balls, this is going to get really messy so be prepaired if you are letting little ones help roll!  Place on parchment paper, and once they are all rolled, place back in the freezer to harden. 

Meanwhile, make the chocolate. Put chocolate chips and coconut milk into a large glass bowl. Place a large glass bowl over a medium pot of boiling water, so that the steam from the water will melt the chocolate. Dip the filling balls into the chocolate and place on the parchment paper.  Once they are all dipped, place them back in the freezer to set completely.  Enjoy! 
You can store extra in the freezer, if there are any left.... 

Thanks for reading!
xoxo-N

After Thoughts of Juice Journey

I am done and not only did I survive, I thrived. Go me!! A slight round of applause will do... 

Something that I kept track of for these past few days was my weight. I didn't want to post it until after I was done because I wasn't sure there was going to be any change. But fortunately it did:
Day one - 131
Day two - 129
Day three - 128
Day four - 127
Hello 120's, it has been FOREVER since I saw you last. I probably lost around an inch of bloating around my stomach which resulted in a almost flat stomach, something that I have never had. I know this is something that will not last because I am now eating solid foods but I am going to try and reduce my bloating as much as possible. How? By eating mainly fruit and leafy greens, and reducing cooked foods and fats from my diet. This wont be too hard in Mexico, except for the guacamole, I love that stuff! Also by food combinations, such as only eating melons together, not mixing fruits and fats and not eating bananas and acidic fruits together. My time here at 127 might not last, but it was good to see her again!

This morning I woke up feeling good, except when I looked outside and noticed that I had to shovel myself out of my house. But health wise I felt good. For breakfast I had orange juice with coconut water, risking that stomach pain I encountered a couple days ago. But luckily it didn't because it was hard looking at all of those oranges knowing that I might not be able to eat them before I go.  For lunch I made my first 'soild' food meal, a banana, cherry and coconut water smoothie. Seriously, the best thing I have ever tasted (smoothie wise) and I was so amped to eat it for lunch it was hard not to eat it for breakfast. I did however make way too much of it, I probably only needed 2 bananas but my eyes are bigger than my stomach and  made it with 4! Yummy!



The things I learned from my juice cleanse:

1)    First and foremost, I CAN DO IT. I was so scared at the start of this, thinking that I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at work, that I would have bad stomach aches, or just not being able to handle not eating solid foods and having massive cravings (the ladies at work have been talking about OJ’s recently and I am now craving their quinoa salad). But Ashley was right, juice cleanses are easy and I can do it!

2)    My skin is so fricken soft. My skin on my face is usually really dry and I need to exfoliate everyday. But now its super soft and clear and I don’t want it to go back.

3)    To take things slowly. Before the cleanse I was over anxious for our trip and by doing this juice cleanse I really slowed down my pace, especially by going to bed early. I really focused on my health instead of the minutes until our flight left and it took my mind off of my nervousness/anxiety that I was feeling over our trip.  

4)  That I do not need to eat after my workout because drinking a liter and a half of water is sufficient enough to get me to 9:00am. That way when I get home I can eat a full meal on an empty stomach, hydrated system.

5)  That if I didn't have Ashley there to help me I wouldn't have been as successful in my cleanse. She helped me with juice combinations, when to drink, how much, ect. She was a great help and I thank her for it. 

6)  That going to bed at 9pm is wonderful because I feel so great in the mornings. Yes that could have something to do with the cleanse, but I know that it helped me get through my days.

7)  I smell. Yup I stink. The toxins that were in my body escaped through my sweat glands during my cleanse and boy could I smell them. It actually makes me feel good knowing that they are leaving my body, hopefully to never return.

8)  If I felt this good after three days then what would I feel like after 10?

9)  That I should probably do another one after Mexico too!

10) I love having a flat stomach!

Thank you to all who followed me and Ashley on this juice journey. We really appreciate all of the supportive comments and likes and if you have any questions please feel free to ask!

xoxo - N