Tuesday, April 9, 2013

By Special Request

A friend has asked me to give ideas for healthy kids snacks. So I'm thinking maybe I'll try to post a healthy recipe I love every week. If I get better at food photography, I'll even put pictures up.

Right now, I'm loving a date and pumpkin seed ball that I've adapted from Dreena Burton's book "Let them Eat Vegan!" It's a fantastic book, by the way.

Her recipe is called "Cocoa Cookie Dough Balls"- I've changed it a little. I've added more pumpkin seeds and taken out the chocolate chips, plus I roll them in coconut.

1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp rolled oats
pinch sea salt
1 cup pitted dates (I soak them overnight, then drain them for easier blending)
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

A few scoops of shredded coconut for rolling.

Blend the seeds in a food processor until they are fine and crumbled. Add everything else, except the coconut and blend until a ball forms. Dreena describes it well, she says it will appear as though nothing is happening, and then it starts to become sticky. I was adding the chocolate chips at this point, but they are just as tasty without!

Roll into balls, I make about 18 balls, and roll the balls in coconut. Store in the fridge. These are perfect for school, before or after a workout etc. I've done a nutrient analysis on them, and they each contain about 85 calories, 15 g of carbohydrate and 3 grams of protein.

They are great, I would double or triple the recipe if your food processor is big enough. Sadly, mine isn't and lately we are making a batch every few days. My sweet friend tried one and said "You can make millions off of these!" I'd split it with Dreena, since it is almost exactly her recipe!Thanks for the inspiration!

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