Am I going to too far with the whole ‘Making Love In The Kitchen’ themed posts? You should see the creepy search terms people put into google that land them on my site. I can only imagine how disappointed someone must be when they type in “grandma making love videos” and come upon silly me giving a tour of my dry goods filled cupboards or my grandma showing off the contents of her freezer.
I hope to appease the web surfers who come upon my site while searching for obscure sex videos by offering a delectable chocolatey raw recipe. This is one of my sister-in-law Carly’s favourites and since she is about to become waaaaay older than me (this is when six months means a lot) when she turns thirty next week, I am posting this little gem of a recipe in her honour. Happy Birthday Carlos!
My sister-in-law Carly and I (she's the older one on the right)
This is a great recipe if you are not particularly at home in the kitchen because there are no major appliances involved- like a stove. So if you can’t cook but would like to do something nice and indulgent for the woman you love who might be turning thirty next week (Michael- you there?), this could be a great idea!
Also a great recipe if you are on a low glycemic diet as though the balls are sweetened with dates, they are also high in fibre, fats and protein. This recipe also happens to be grain free so it’s great for people with inflammatory bowel conditions. So even though dates are high on the glycemic index, they have all sorts of healthy things going on.
Dates are a great source of dietary fiber and have the highest concentration of polyphenols (antioxidants) among dried fruits. A serving of power-packed dates contains 31 grams of carbohydrates, making them a powerhouse of energy. Dates are one of the best natural sources of potassium. Potassium is an essential mineral your body needs to maintain muscle contractions including the vital heart muscle. Potassium is needed to maintain a healthy nervous system and to balance the body’s metabolism as well. As you consume potassium you excrete sodium, helping to keep blood pressure down. As people age, their kidneys become less efficient at eliminating sodium. Dates also contain a variety of B-complex vitamins –that have a variety of functions that help maintain a healthy body – to metabolize carbohydrates and maintain blood glucose levels, fatty acids for energy, and they help make hemoglobin, the red and white blood cells.
Though I prefer to eat it as a sweet little truffle, it can also be made into a cake form. I have provided directions for both.
Chocolate Truffles
1 cup raw walnuts, unsoaked
1 cup almonds, unsoaked
1/2 tsp salt
15 pitted dates, unsoaked
1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1 Tbs agave
2 Tbs water
1/2 cup shredded coconut or 1/2 cup extra cocoa powder
* for cake method: add 1 cup fresh strawberries
- Place the nuts & salt in a food processor fitted with the S-blade and process until finely ground.
- Add the dates, cocoa powder, agave and vanilla process until the mixture starts to stick together. Add water as needed & process briefly.
- Using about 1 Tbs of mixture, roll into balls.
- Sprinkle coconut or extra cocoa out onto a plate or cookie sheet and roll balls through, giving them a light dusting.
- Keep refrigerated until serving, or even better- eat them right out of the freezer.
Cake Method
- Follow the first two steps as outlined above.
- Thinly slice strawberries
- Line a 6-8 inch (diameter) bowl with plastic wrap.
- Press layer of chocolate mix into bowl and then layer with strawberries
- Repeat with another layer of chocolate mix followed by strawberries.
- Add the rest of the chocolate and press together.
- Easily tip the bowl upside down onto a serving plate and allow cake to rest on the plate.
- Sprinkle with coconut and decorate with strawberries
- Chill for 1-2 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving.
These look delicious and a great idea to wrap up in a little container for someone special. Adding it to my list of things to try! Looks pretty simple!
Oh yeah…and thanks for the heads up on the larabars!
I love raw truffles–these look great! I’m about to start an anti candida diet, but will save this recipe for phase three when I can have a few dried fruits!
Those look amazing!
Thank Meg! These balls are truly my favourite. Absolutely delicious!
These look yummy, and fairly un-intimidating to make. One question though. Do you think a different nut could be substituted for the almonds? I can eat any nut but almonds; they give me hives. Not life-threatening, but certainly not good or comfortable look. Many thanks.
Absolutely… can use any kind of nut- even just do all walnuts works really well. hazelnut would likely work as would pecans.
Whoa, CAKE FORM?? My lord… can’t wait to make that. Also, LOVE all the info on dates! I got this private tour of an organic date farm in Tunisia — can’t wait to tell you about it.
Yummerz!!! I am making this ASAP!! Is this your own recipe?
I love “raw desserts”, so healthy and delicious!
I am obsessed with dates…. I’m known to eat copious amounts of them. You mention all the great benefits of eating dates, how many medjools is a serving size?
Also, what brand of unsweetened cocoa do you use?
Thanks for this yummy recipe Meghan!
P.S. In your About Me you have a link to your old blog, I went to click it but it says I need a password to view it. I would love to see the info/recipes you have there as well, is there anyway I can view it?
Anyway, I am excited to make these yummy treats once I know what cocoa to use! Have a wonderful day
I just finished making these – unfortunately I used a blender with non-removable blades which made for horrible cleanup
Other than that they were amazing! My junk-food-loving roommate thought they were great too – thanks for the recipe!
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Just made these today with my 5 year old son. The whole family loved them. And they were simple enough for him to be able to help with. He loved rolling the balls in coconut.
These are VERY delicious. My sister made them for us as a treat as we are midweek through the ‘5 Day Vegan’ diet. We have some idea as to this type of eating so nothing odd about it, the challenge of it keeps us on track though. The only thing I am starting to crave is milk but that is easy to avoid.
Give almond milk a try! Here is my video on how to make it: http://meghantelpnerblog.com/2008/10/14/my-milkshake-brings-all-the-boys-to-the-yard/
[...] Here’s a little sample of what I made this week: Roasted veggies, sweet potato burgers, red lentil-lemon-kale soup, buckwheat crust pizza (with leftover roasted veggies) and the all time best thing I’ve ever made in my entire life… chocolate coconut truffles. [...]
can i use raw chocolate powder instead of cocoa powder?