If you’re a lover of chocolate or have an inscrutable sweet tooth, these healthy truffles are a wonderfully delicious, naturally sweet alternative with a smooth, chocolate coating. Simple to make and even easier to eat, these are one treat you won’t have to feel guilty about.
So, we’re about 7 weeks into 2017 and you too may be struggling to keep those health goals you strictly committed to the moment 2016 came to a close. I can totally relate! Keeping healthy resolutions can be hard, especially if those resolutions entail cutting out all of the delicious sugars and carbs 2016 had us binging on.
There’s an overwhelming number of recipes and guides online showing you how to make uniquely healthy alternatives to or versions of your favourite treats, but somehow they all seem too intricate or time-consuming. Easier to reach for the store-bought chocolate instead, right? Well, yes and no.
While I love a good Lindt bar just as much as the next gal or guy, in order to stringently stick to my health goals and cut out most of those nasty, refined sugars (which really don’t do any of us any favours) I decided my sweet tooth could use a reset.
I headed to my local organic market to pick up a few staple ingredients I typically keep in my pantry and, during my shopping trip, realised I could use those same ingredients to make a healthy treat.
Enter, Healthy Truffles.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup pecans, chopped
- 1/2 cup cashews, chopped
- 1/2 cup pepitas (green pumpkin seeds)
- 10-12 medjool dates (pitted)
- 1 tsp organic matcha powder
- 1 1/2 cups of vegan chocolate chips (or raw cacao powder mixed with a little plant milk and natural sweetner)
- optional: 4 tbsp natural sweetener (honey, date syrup, coconut nectar or agave nectar)
- optional: 2 tbsp coconut oil
Tools
- Food processor
- Large mixing bowl
- Baking tray
- Non-stick paper
- Bain marie
DIRECTIONS
1. Prepare the filling
Blend your dates in a food processor until they are finely chopped; add in your pecans and blend again until the pecans and dates are well incorporated and stick together.
Set the date and pecan mixture aside in a large mixing bowl.
Add your pepitas and cashews to the food processor and blend for 5-7 minutes, until the nut and seed mixture begins to form a buttery paste.
Add the nut & seed mixture into the bowl with your date and pecan mixture.
Add in your agave nectar and mix until all of the ingredients are well incorporated and achieve a sticky consistency; you can add another tbsp or so of your agave nectar if the mixture isn’t sticky enough.
Using your baking tray lined with parchment paper (or other non-stick material), roll the mixture into small balls and place them about 1-2 inches apart on the tray.
Set the tray in your fridge and allow the truffle balls to set for about 10 minutes.
2. Prepare the coating
Using a bain marie, melt your vegan chocolate chips and coconut oil over low-medium heat and stir until the chocolate and oil mixture has fully melted together and is completely smooth; take the chocolate off the heat and set aside.
3. Make the healthy truffles
Remove your truffle balls from the fridge and, using a small slotted spoon, place each ball into the chocolate, fully coating each truffle ball and placing them back onto your baking tray.
Once every truffle is coated in chocolate, lightly sprinkle each with a dash of the matcha powder.
Set the truffles in your fridge and allow them to set for 20-30 minutes, or until the chocolate coating has set and doesn’t melt upon contact with your hands.
Eat and enjoy!
HOT TIPS:
- While they can be expensive, Medjool dates are the optimal type to use for this recipe, as they are soft, gooey, and blend quite well; they also have a naturally sweet taste perfect for this truffle recipe
- The coconut oil isn’t necessary to make your chocolate coating but will make the coating smooth, shiny, and lend a hint of coconut taste to the truffle
- Substitute the nuts and seeds in this recipe with those of your own choosing; walnuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, or Brasil nuts are tasty alternatives
You can now join our 28 day-program THE BIG RESET at healthcoachFX.com packed with personalised healthy recipes and everyday lifestyle hacks to transform your body and life for good!
