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Healthy Chocolate Date Balls

There’s a brand of ‘chocolate’ bar that we love around here, but it’s pretty expensive. They put the ingredients and roughly the amounts on the back of the packaging though, so we’ve been trying to make them the same. I think we need some kind of cold pressing equipment to make them stick together as bars, but they work pretty well rolled into balls or made in a brownie pan.

chocolate date balls

The reason I love these for my children is that apart from the cocoa – and you can substitute it for cacao – there’s only fruit and breakfast oats in it. When my daughter refuses to have breakfast, she’ll have these, and I’m just fine with that on occasion.

Another bonus of  date balls, is that they are pretty versatile. Just add the basics, and the rest is up to you.

Put them on a pretty plate, and wrap a ribbon around, and you’ve got a lovely gift too.

For twenty more date ball ideas, check out Bliss Balls For Beginners.

Chocolate Date Balls
 
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These originated from Nakd bars, which I couldn't afford to keep buying. Looking at the ingredients on the back, we came up with an earlier version of these. They are delicious!
Author:
Recipe type: Snack,Treat, Healthy
Ingredients
  • 1 cup dates
  • ½ cup raisins
  • ½ to ¾ cup oats
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • Something wet: a ¼ cup apple juice or 2 tablespoons peanut butter, just enough to hold the batter together.
  • Optional extras:
  • You can add a variety of things – nuts, dried fruit, berries
Instructions
  1. Mix everything together in a food processor or blender.
  2. You want it well mixed, but not smooth.
  3. Either roll the batter into balls, then around a plate of coconut and place in the fridge.
  4. Alternatively spread it out on a baking sheet and refridgerate.
  5. Once set, cut into squares and enjoy.

Reposted from Diary of a First Child

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Raw Caramel Slice


Rawfood, Caramel Slice
I’m super excited to welcome Charlotte as an author on Keeper of the Kitchen. I met Charlotte in Perth, Australia, and I’ve always been so inspired by her adventures in raw food preparation. She makes it look so good, and I’m really chuffed that she’s agreed to share her recipes with us!

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This is a raw, dairy free, vegan (if not using honey!), gluten free caramel slice alternative. I say alternative but for me there is no question which one I would rather eat. This still has high calories like a regular caramel slice but they aren’t empty calories. With nuts, coconut oil and raw cacao powder full of healthy vitamins and minerals there is no reason not to eat this delicious slice. I like to cut it up into little squares and freeze it, perfect for that 3pm sweet craving or to have ready for unexpected guests.

I make it in the Thermomix®, but you can make it in any high powered blender.

Raw Caramel Slice
 
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Just to taunt you for now - recipe will be up shortly - is this raw, dairy free, vegan (if not using honey!), gluten free caramel slice alternative.
Author:
Recipe type: Desert, Sweets, Raw
Cuisine: Raw
Serves: 15
Ingredients
  • Base
  • ½ cup Medjool dates
  • 1 cup almonds
  • ½ cup cashews
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Caramel
  • ½ cup tahini
  • ½ cup maple syrup or raw honey
  • ¼ cup coconut oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence
  • Large pinch Himalayan salt
  • Chocolate topping
  • 3 tbsp raw cacao
  • 1 tsp carob powder
  • 3-4 tbsp coconut sugar, rapadura sugar or agave syrup
  • ½ cup coconut oil
Instructions
  1. Grind pitted dates and nuts in blender. Add vanilla & blend until it’s sticky. If it’s not becoming sticky add an extra date.
  2. With a spatula or back of a spoon press mixture into a rectangular dish greased in coconut oil.
  3. Blend caramel ingredients together and pour over biscuit base and set in the freezer for 20 minutes.
  4. While the slice is setting, for the chocolate topping blend coconut oil and all other ingredients. The heat from the blender usually melts the coconut oil if it is solid.
  5. Then pour chocolate topping over slice and place back in freezer to set again.
  6. With a warm knife, cut into small squares to serve.

 

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Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

If you fancy a healthier cheesecake, you’ve come to the right place. This is a dairy free, vegan, sugar free cheesecake alternative. And it’s pretty darn good.Raw Strawberry Cheesecake

I make it in the Thermomix®, but you can make it in any high powered blender. It’s both labour intensive and totally not. It’s a perfect dinner party recipe, especially for people not familiar with raw food. Check out The Rawtarian from time to time – this is an adaptation of her recipe.

Raw Strawberry Cheesecake
 
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Take this desert out of the freezer half an hour before you expect to eat it and don't forget to return it to the freezer when you're done. If it's for snacks rather than dinner, freeze in single portion sizes
Author:
Recipe type: Desert
Cuisine: Raw Food
Serves: 18
Ingredients
  • Crust ingredients:
  • 1½ cups cashew nuts
  • ½ cup pitted dates
  • ¼ cup dried, unsweetened coconut
  • 1 pinch sea salt
  • White cheesecake filling ingredients:
  • 3 cups cashews
  • ¾ cup lemon juice
  • ¾ cup agave or honey
  • ¾ cup coconut oil
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla
  • Up to a ¼ cup of water, as needed for blending
  • Fruit topping ingredients:
  • 2 cups frozen strawberries
  • ½ cup dates
Instructions
  1. Sprinkle coconut into a large glass dish to serve as a base for your cheesecake.
  2. In your food processor, place 1.5 cups of cashews, salt and dates, and blend to a crumbed consistency.
  3. Pour into dish on top of coconut and press down to form a good, firm base.
  4. Next, blend together the 'cheesecake filling, adding as little water as possible and as required to make your blender work. In the Thermomix® you shouldn't need to add much water at all. This needs to be smooth and creamy in consistency.
  5. Spread the mixture on top of the base.
  6. Freeze for about an hour to allow it to firm up.
  7. When you're ready for the last step, blend the berries and dates until they are nice and smooth. Pour this mixture on top and freeze again for another few hours at least.
  8. Take out of freezer about half an hour before eating, so that it's still firm, but edible.
Nutrition Information
Calories: 349.0 Fat: 24.9 g Carbohydrates: 31.6 g Sugar: 18.7 g Sodium: 65.7 mg Fiber: 2.2 g Protein: 5.4 g Cholesterol: 0.0 mg

Reposted from Diary of a First Child

 

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Cinnamon Scrolls

20130502-215342.jpg These are probably ridiculously bad for you. I try not to think about it. They are so incredibly yummy. I make them ‘better’ by not pouring a sugar syrup over them, and I follow the theory that the cinnamon is good for you, so that cancels out the sugar ;). I have successfully made these with Rapadura too, which takes some of the ‘bad’ out of it.

The best part of this recipe is the fact that it takes around 20 minutes from putting the flour in the bowl to eating a cinnamon scroll.

Cinnamon Scrolls
 
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This is a Thermomix® recipe, but you can adjust it to any food processor. You can also make a runny icing sugar to pour over each scroll, but we find that too sweet, and choose not to.
Author:
Recipe type: Desert, Sweet
Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients
  • Dough
  • 300 g Self Raising Flour
  • 90 g Butter , cut into chunks
  • 150 g milk
  • Filling
  • 60 g Butter
  • 40 g Soft brown sugar
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat oven to 210C (190C gas)
  2. Prepare a baking tray with a sheet of baking paper.
  3. Place flour and butter into mixing bowl and mix 5 sec/speed 5.
  4. With lid set to locked position, knead 40 - 60 sec/ Interval setting.
  5. Add milk gradually until a soft dough is formed.
  6. Turn out dough onto lightly floured baking paper and roll out dough into a rectangle
  7. Filling
  8. Place all ingredients for filling into mixing bowl and mix 10 sec/speed 4 or until creamy mixture has formed.
  9. Spread mixture evenly over dough rectangle.
  10. Roll up dough from the long side and using a sharp knife cut rolled up dough into 3cm pieces. (sometimes we make it smaller for bite sized/toddler sized rolls)
  11. Place dough pieces, cut side up, on prepared baking tray and cook in the oven for 12 min or until golden brown.
  12. Remove from oven and allow to cool and enjoy.