Raw, healthy, date, carob, and coconut truffles by April

Today I have gone back to my cleansing, raw foods diet.  Read this for more info on this diet's benefits to the body/mind/spirit.

I went to Vitamin Cottage and got the ingredients to make yummy natural chocolate like snacks to eat when I am craving sweets, because that is one of my biggest battles right now is really intense cravings for carbs and sweets. I need to have something good to snack on instead of Oreos, or ice cream. So I looked up a few Raw Dessert Recipes..... (this lady's blog is AWESOME) and found a ton of healthy treats that are really low fat and actually good for you. And in my opinion, they taste better than truffles made with butter and milk and other sugary, processed, fatty ingredients.

I was going to follow a recipe I found on a random blog, but once I got home and started mixing things, my creative side took hold and I made something completely different. Plus I altered the ingredients to suit my taste. Interesting fact about coconuts. Wow! Everything from weight loss to shiny hair!!

RAW, HEALTHY, DATE, CAROB, AND COCONUT TRUFFLES BY APRIL

INGREDIENTS:

PITTED DATES, ABOUT 2 POUNDS
RAW WALNUTS, 1 CUP (OR MORE DEPENDING ON YOUR TASTE)
RAW ALMOND BUTTER, FOURTH CUP
COCONUT FLAKES (LARGE BAG)
COCONUT WATER WITH PULP, HALF CUP OR SO
COCONUT OIL, 1 TABLESPOON
CAROB POWDER 3/4 CUP (OR YOU CAN USE COCOA POWDER IF YOU PREFER REAL CHOCOLATE)
CINNAMON
NUTMEG
PINCH OF SEA SALT

PROCESS PITTED DATES AND WALNUTS TOGETHER IN A FOOD PROCESSOR OR BLENDER. IF YOU ONLY HAVE A BLENDER, PUT THE COCONUT WATER IN FIRST SO IT WILL BLEND INTO A PASTE

****please make sure your dates are pitted or you will pretty much chip your teeth on pits***

ADD ALMOND BUTTER, COCONUT OIL, AND COCONUT WATER. MIX WELL.

THE CONSISTENCY SHOULD NOW LOOK LIKE THIS:

ADD CAROB, CINNAMON, NUTMEG, SEA SALT.

NOW IT SHOULD LOOK LIKE THIS:

ADD A COUPLE HANDFULS OF COCONUT FLAKES SO YOU CAN ROLL YOUR STICKY CAROB MIXTURE INTO BALLS.

COVER SURFACE OF BALLS WITH COCONUT FLAKES ( YOU CAN USE OATS HERE, YOU CAN USE ROUGH COCONUT FLAKES OR FINE GROUND, THIS IS WHERE YOU CAN BE VERY CREATIVE. YOU CAN EVEN ADD BEAT JUICE TO YOUR COCONUT TO GIVE IT A BIT OF COLOR!)

I PUT MINE IN REGULAR CUPCAKE PAPERS AND PLACED THEM IN MY FRUIT DRAWER IN THE FRIDGE SO ANY TIME I NEED A SWEET TREAT, I CAN JUST GRAB A BAG AND ENJOY!!

BOTH OF MY KIDS LOVED THESE TASTY TREATS AND I DIDN'T FEEL GUILTY LETTING THEM HAVE A GOOD SIZED BALL. THEY ATE THEM UP!

TOMORROW: RAW PAD THAI MINUS THE NOODLES AND CHICKEN.