I absolutely love chocolate. You’re going to find that most of the dessert recipes I’ll share with you will be chocolate-based. Unfortunately, most chocolate that’s widely available commercially is so loaded with added sugar, fat, trans fats, and preservatives that it’s a distant relative of its original ingredient—cacao—and devoid of any healthful properties. Pure raw cacao, or even pure dark cooking cocoa contain antioxidants and abundant amounts of magnesium and other phytochemicals that can balance blood pressure, lower high cholesterol, scrub away arterial plaque, and promote general health by reversing heart disease.
In addition to the cocao, this recipe is made from dates and pumpkin seeds. Dates are a natural source of sugar.
Pumpkin seeds are a source of protein that also helps to stabilize blood sugar. That makes this snack filling and won’t give you that crash and burn feeling you get from conventional snacks made with processed sugar.
This is a quick and super nutritious snack or dessert that you can have at any time of the day completely guilt-free. In fact, I recommend that you have 2 of these per day for their health benefits. These are also great as snacks for your kids. You can put them in their lunch box or leave them in your fridge for them to snack on at their leisure.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup chopped dates, soaked
- ¼ cup chia
- ¼ cup raw cacao or dark cooking chocolate without any sugar or dairy
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ cup peeled pumpkin seeds, raw
- 1/8 cup water
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender. You will get a thick paste. Form the paste into little balls. Place the balls on a tray, then put into the freezer for 30 minutes to form. You can then roll the truffles in shredded unsweetened coconut; chopped almonds or pistachios or even more cocoa powder.
Enjoy or store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week (they won’t last that long though!).