In my humble opinion, society today feels like a world of convenience. I know this is rather a serious statement for the start my post with but I really feel this dictates many of our daily choices. We all want things faster, easier and with less effort on our own behalf. I’m very guilty of this as time seems to be my most precious commodity.
Certain things seem to be more commonplace such as welling at my computer if it is not going fast enough, not ironing clothes that clearly need it and even skipping a meal or two just through not having enough time. Now that I say them out loud they all seem rather stupid but shortcuts do start to creep in everywhere.
However, there is one thing I will not compromise on – the food I eat. I don’t buy premade meals and do cook as much from scratch as I possibly can. I’ve learnt over many years that it is important to fuel your body with the right things to get the best out of it. When it comes to eating, I tend to be a “snacker”, eating smaller amounts more often throughout the day rather than bigger meals. My friends often say “you’re always eating”, and I guess it seems like I am. So having things on hand that I can grab on the run that keep my energy up is really important.
The great thing about making your own food from scratch is you can choose exactly what goes into it and what flavours you want. The challenging part is that it can be time consuming to “make your own”. Luckily this is where a Thermomix can come in very handy.
When I developed these recipes I knew they had to be really quick and easy as well as packed with flavour and nutrition. Oh and at least one on them had to replicate my favourite flavour, salted caramel. You can use these as a base and change the ingredients to suit you. I know there are possibly thousands of bliss ball recipes, so I hope you enjoy these.
(paleo) “salted caramel” bliss balls (recipe by Fiona at Food 4 Thought).
Serves 20 – 24 pieces, depending on size.
Ingredients
30g unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut
200g pitted medjool dates (about 12)
150g raw or activated nuts (I did half cashews and half pecan) *see below for nut free version
½ teaspoon fine sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
2 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
Preparation
Place all ingredients into TM bowl mix for 30 seconds on speed 8. Scrape around the sides of the bowl, checking that ingredients are well combined. If needed, repeat for further 15 seconds on speed 8. Press some of the mixture together to make sure it will stay in a ball. If needed do a further 15 seconds. Place mixture into separate bowl and refrigerate (see tips below), this will make it easier to roll into balls. Once slightly chilled, take a rounded teaspoon/level tablespoon of the mixture and roll into balls. Place on a lined tray and refrigerate until firm (a couple of hours). Store in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to eat.
My tips: *To make these nut free simply substitute the nuts with sesame or sunflower seeds. *I found putting the mixture into the fridge to chill a little made them MUCH easier to roll into balls. If you don’t have time to do that just press them into a tray and cut them into cubes. You can also put it into the freezer for 10 minutes to firm the mixture slightly *If you are lucky enough not to eat these in the first two days, these will keep for approx. 2 weeks in the fridge.
ease: 9.5/10. Does it get any easier?!?
prep time: 10 minutes + chilling time
cooking time: 0 minutes
total: 20 minutes + chilling time
taste: 9.5/10 I’ve made a LOT of bliss balls. These got two thumbs up from G and are my absolute, all time favourite.
would I make it again: Ummm, I’ve already made three! hehehe.
(paleo) “chocolate chia” bliss balls (recipe from a friend and adapted by Fiona at Food 4 Thought).
Serves 20 – 24 pieces, depending on size.
Ingredients
30g unsweetened flaked or shredded coconut
150g pitted medjool dates (about 10)
300g raw or activated nuts (I used almonds)
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt or pink Himalayan salt
60-80g raw honey
20g (2 tablespoons) raw cacao powder
30g (2 tablespoons) chia seeds
30g (2 tablespoons) melted coconut oil *see below for melting easily
34g (2 tablespoons) water
Preparation
Place all ingredients into TM bowl mix for 45 seconds to 1 minute on speed 8, until the mixture forms a ball or sticks together well. Scrape around the sides of the bowl, checking that ingredients are well combined. Moisten your hands with cold water and roll into balls. Place on a lined tray and refrigerate until firm (a couple of hours). Store in an air tight container in the fridge until ready to eat.
My tips: *If you are struggling to roll these into balls you might want to try the fridge idea mentioned above. *Substitute the nuts for any others and add some extra dried fruit (like dried cranberries) to switch it up a little. *To melt coconut oil easily I simply place very hot water into a container so that it will come at least halfway up the jar, slightly loosen the lid and sit the container in the water. Make sure that no water can get into the jar. I do this just before preparing all the other ingredients. This allows time for it to soften before it is needed.
ease: 9/10. Pretty simple
prep time: 15 minutes + chilling time
cooking time: 0 minutes
total: 25 minutes + chilling time
taste: 8.5/10 These were delicious.
would I make it again: Yes, because they are yummy. But only if I didn’t have the ingredients for the Salted Caramel 🙂
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