Raw Cacao Vanilla Energy Bites

Where oh where to start?

Well for starters, how about as promised, I'm back today with a sweet snack to share.

Or should I say a luscious chocolatey snack?

If you've been following along with me for awhile now, you're probably familiar with how much I love to make real easy snacks, especially no-bake energy bites. They're always nutritious and deliciously good. These are no exception! The title says it all. If you have a sweet tooth and are in love with chocolate, these little bites might just fit the bill. They're texture is so smooth, soft, and chocolatey. Very reminiscent of a decadent truffle. Only these won't go straight to your thighs ;)

You may be thinking they look pretty impressive, but they're surprisingly easy to prepare. Just 6 ingredients and some quality time with my favourite kitchen accessory, the food processor.

I recently bought some raw cacao powder at my local healthy food store and boy is it good. I've been doing some experimenting with it in a few recipes and this is one of them. I think I nailed this recipe the first time I made it. After the first bite, I almost died and went to heaven! Maybe I'm biased but I think this is one of my best energy bite recipes yet, and my family agrees with me. They came out so fluffy and soft. They just melt in mouth.

I made sure the chocolate and vanilla flavours were nice and prominent. Pure and simple clean ingredients for clean nutrition.

Raw Cacao Vanilla Energy Bites

by Jennifer Trennum

Prep Time: 5-10 minutes

Keywords: food processor no-bake raw dessert snack gluten-free grain-free vegan almond butter dates cacao powder energy bites

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Ingredients (12 energy bites)

• 3/4 cup macadamia nuts
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 3 tablespoons raw cacao powder
• 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions

Place macadamia nuts in the bowl of food processor and grind until finely chopped. Be careful not to turn them into nut butter.

Next add the dates to the chopped nuts and grind until combined and mixture holds together.

Add the rest of the ingredients to the food processor. Process until a smooth dough forms, stopping and scraping the walls of a food processor as needed. It should take about 2-5 minutes. The dough should be sticky enough that you are able to form it together in your hands.

Using a small ice cream scoop or spoon, scoop 2 tablespoons worth of the mixture out (about the size of a golf ball) and roll with hands into a ball. Place some coconut flakes in one bowl and cacao powder in another, roll half of the balls in the coconut flakes and the other half in the cacao powder to coat.

Notes

Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks. Freeze for up to 3 months. They can be eaten right out the freezer, no defrosting necessary!

Nutritional Information

Serving Size: 1 energy bite Calories: 136 Fat: 10g Sodium: 21mg Carbohydrates: 13g Sugar: 7g Fiber: 5g Protein: 2g

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Zesty Nacho Kale Chips

Every once in a while you find a new food that you fall in love with. Now I'm no stranger to kale, but I wanted to express how much I really do love this leafy green veggie. I bet you can probably tell... I just couldn't stop myself from taking pictures. I think I had something like 40 photos to sort through once I uploaded everything. It was way too hard to choose my favourites for this post! 

So today we're talking kale... and kale chips!

It may look scary to some but it just needs a little tender love and care. My usual way to enjoy it is in a salad raw, massaged with a tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, some fresh lemon juice, and sometimes a sprinkle of sea salt. So simple and fresh. 

Then I finally tried making kale chips. Yummy! 

I don't know why it took me so long to make these. The only thing that's annoying is they don't store very well. That is if they last long enough. They basically need to be eaten the same day as baking (no problem there ;). Whatever you do don't store them in a plastic bag unless you have the paitience to re-crisp them in the oven for 5 minutes the next day. If you go this route just spread them out on a baking sheet and bake at 300F. They'll crisp up once you remove them and they start to cool. You could also you a toaster oven if you have one.

Seriously. If you ever find yourself craving potato chips, try making these nutritious chips as a healthy alternative instead.

These kale chips are very reminiscent of Doritos! Only 100% better for you and nutritious.

Kale for life!

Zesty Nacho Kale Chips

by Jennifer Trennum

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 22 minutes

Keywords: food processor bake appetizer snack side lunch gluten-free grain-free nut-free soy-free sugar-free vegan vegetarian herbs kale tahini

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Ingredients (serves 4)

• 1 large bunch of kale
• 1/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/4 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp roasted garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt

Instructions

Preheat oven to 300F. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

Remove the leaves from the stems of the kale and roughly tear the leaves into large pieces. Thoroughly dry the kale leaves using a salad spinner and place them in a large bowl. Set aside.

Add the tahini, lemon juice, nutritional yeast, cumin, paprika, roasted garilc powder, and sea salt to the bowl of a food processor. Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.

Pour sauce over kale and mix until evenly coated. Don't be afraid to get in there with your hands and massage the sauce into the kale.

Spread the kale out evenly onto the prepared baking sheet into a single layer; be sure not to overcrowd.

Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan, and bake for another 12 minutes more until the kale begins to crisp up.

Remove from oven and let the chips cool slightly before enjoying.

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