Meatless Monday: Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Truffles

Over the weekend I was craving something sweet after a rough couple of days with Lily. As I said on Friday's post, she was feeling sick and we were also in the midst of potty training; between those things, she was just being a handful in general, and mommy was burnt out by the time she finally got to sleep on Friday.

I didn't want anything too sugary because my teeth have been bothering me (plus it's obviously healthier to lay-off the extra sugar!), and I didn't want anything too heavy, like ice cream. Then, I came across this recipe while I was browsing recipe blogs and inspiration struck! I recently finally bought a food processor, and I had many of the ingredients to make these tasty treats, but I changed it up enough to make it my own, and I made 2 different versions...

Sugar-Free, Dairy-Free Truffles
(each recipe makes about 12 truffles)

Cashew and Date Delights

1/2 cup raw cashews (helps if they've been soaked in water for a few hours)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp honey or agave syrup
7 pitted dates
1-2 tbsp shredded coconut (unsweetened)

Process the cashews in food processor until chopped to a mostly fine, crumble (or to your liking). Add the rest of the ingredients and process 5 seconds at a time until all is mashed together and somewhat sticky. If it's too dry looking, add some more coconut oil or water, and if it's too wet, add more cocoa powder. 

Remove the blade, then roll chunks of the sticky brown mess into little balls like in the picture below. Next, roll into shredded coconut. They can be served right away or refrigerated to keep. 

Peanutty Balls

1/2 cup raw peanuts (also helps if they've soaked)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tbsp peanut butter
2-3 tbsp honey
5 dates
1 graham cracker

Process the graham cracker into fine crumble and set aside. Process the peanuts in food processor until chopped to a mostly fine, crumble (or to your liking). Add the rest of the ingredients and process 5 seconds at a time until all is mashed together and somewhat sticky. If it's too dry looking, add some water, if it's too wet, add more cocoa powder. Add more honey if desired, to taste.

Remove the blade, then roll chunks of the sticky brown mess into little balls. Next, roll the balls into the graham cracker crumbs. They can be served right away or refrigerated to keep. 

I personally liked the Date Delights better, but I was then craving peanut butter on Saturday and decided to change it up. There are so many possibilities, actually. Here are some other ingredient suggestions:

• almonds
• dried cranberries
• raisins
• cashew and/or almond butter
• dried cherries
• espresso beans
• hazelnuts
• macadamias
• cacao

So many possibilities for such a quick and easy treat! And best of all, a treat you don't have to feel guilty about eating! Lily took a bite and right away said, "Mmmm", followed by, "I want more". Paul was impressed as well, but still prefers the classic sugary sweets (he's not the best role model in those respects). I'm hoping to perfect these even more so that he will enjoy them over traditional cookies and pastries.

Or you could enjoy them without any coating...along with a glass of pinot noir :)

Adding nuts to your diet is a good way to keep your heart healthy and cholesterol levels low. This is pretty common knowledge, but did you know that using dates as a replacer for sugar can also be beneficial in ways other than keeping refined sugars out of your diet? They are full of fiber, antioxidants, and vitamins and minerals such as B vitamins, potassium and copper. Do keep in mind that they are still high in sugar and carbs, so eat sparingly! It's just good to know that they are better for you than straight up sugar! 

Now it's your turn to share your Meatless Monday dish below! No rules, other than please only link-up meat-free recipes. No other un-related links or I will remove them. Sorry to sound so harsh, but let's keep it true to what it is, ok? Link up as much as you want, and feel free to spread the word with the button below. Thanks, and have a great week!

<a href="http://jessica-healthymommyhealthybaby.blogspot.com/search/label/meatless%20mondays" target="_blank"><img alt="Healthy Mommy, Healthy Baby" src="http://draft.blogger.com/%E2%80%9CADD%E2%80%9D"><img alt="Photobucket" border="0" src="http://i1184.photobucket.com/albums/z327/ruffandcut/HMHBMMHop_button.jpg"/></a>

What are you having for Meatless Monday??? May I suggest sharing some more healthy versions of desserts? I'm a on a roll here!

Clearly, she's feeling better :)

 

Meatless Monday: Frozen Tahini-Banana Bites

Every so often I stumble across a recipe that gets me really excited. The requirements for such excitement usually are:

• unusual prepartation or ingredients
• uses ingredients in a way I never thought of
• is not only delicious, but also healthy!  

And I get especially excited when it's an easy-to-make dessert that is sugar-free and I just so happen to have all the ingredients readily available! 

I came across the recipe for Frozen Yogurt Tahini Banana Cups (what a mouthful!) via Simple Living with Diane Balch (currently my favorite food blog, I might add!) when Fox in the Kitchen linked it up onto the Foodie Friday blog hop. Fox in the Kitchen has a wealth of awesome recipes on her blog, so do check her out, and she based the recipe off of the vegan version from The Veggie Nook (lots of good stuff there, too!). And she got the recipe from Sketch-Free Eating, a blog that has many amazing raw-based recipes, and they got it from...somewhere. I couldn't find the original recipe on their blog, they have way too much amazingness on there that easily distracts me...

SO, with all that being said, you know this recipe has to be awesome if so many people felt the need to keep passing it on! I made a batch for a Sunday afternoon gathering, and I'm sorry to say they did not go over as well as I'd hoped, although I found them to be so yummy and delicious that I ate half the batch myself. They are lightly sweetened and just melt in your mouth! Not everyone is as enthusiatic about healthy-eating as I am. That's why I am so grateful for my blogging community that can appreciate recipes like these, at least I hope so...

I had the cute Disney cupcake liners left over from Lily's 2nd birthday party :)

Frozen Tahini-Banana Bites
(this is the exact recipe from Fox in the Kitchen, but I just think that title is less of a mouthful!)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of cold-pressed coconut oil
1/2 cup tahini
1-2 ripe banana
1/2 cup plain regular or Greek yogurt 
4 tbsp honey or agave (you can use less, but I thought this was the perfect amount)
1 tbsp raw sesame seeds
Pinch of sea salt
24 blueberries+ for topping (optional)
24 cupcake liners 

Note: the recipe from Fox in the Kitchen says this makes 2 dozen, but I was only able to make half of that with this amount. Perhaps I used too much batter per cupcake cup, or perhaps I just used larger-sized cupcake cups than she did, but if you want to make the full 24, I suggest not to be too generous with filling each cup with the mix.

What I used

Combine the coconut oil, salt, honey or agave, and tahini in a small bowl; it will work better if the tahini and coconut oil are softened or melted. Next, add the yogurt until well-combined. Slice the banana(s) into 24 slices. Spoon some of the mixture into each cupcake liner, then place a piece of sliced banana on top, sprinkled with some of the sesame seeds. Place cupcake cups on tray in freezer and freeze until batter is set, for about 5 or so minutes.

The batter

After first freezing phase

Take the tray out of the freezer then spoon the rest of the batter on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and then place tray back into freezer. Allow treats to freeze for at least one hour before serving.

Now, to "add a little something", I placed a single, fat blueberry on top of each treat to make it look a little more appealing. I think they came out cuter-looking that way, and you can of course get even more creative with whatever you choose.  

Another thing I did to make things more fun was to put blueberries in the middle of one of the treats for one of the kids to find. Whoever got the treat with the blueberries in the middle won a prize! (In this case, my friend's daughter found them and she won a word card game. She was very pleased with this:). 

After taking my first bite, I thought of so many other creative ways you can mix this recipe up. Here are some suggestions:

• use peanut or almond butter in place of tahini
• add raw carob or chocolate shavings as topping
• add extra fruit to the middle or top
• mix chocolate, vanilla, almond, etc. flavoring into batter
• put jelly in the middle

I am going to try and make them with peanut butter and chocolate next time! They may go over better with the pickier eaters in my life that way. Plus, how can such a flavor combination go wrong?

The general consensus of this recipe among my family and guests was:

Friend 1: "Good, but weird."
Friend 2: "Tastes like halvah; could use more banana."
Daughter of friend 1: "No thanks." (she's vegan)
Daughter of friend 2: "Yum." (she found the blueberries)
Lily: peeled off the banana and left the rest
Paul: "Yuck!"
Me: "Yum, yum, yum, I'll eat the rest!"

I hope the mixed response does not deter you from trying this if you're curious and especially if you're passionate about raw food and healthy eating. This is super-easy and cheap to make and definitely a much better alternative to store-brought popsicles and ice cream. 

Tahini is an incredibly tasty and versatile ingredient that I don't think is used much at all in the western world. It is a very popular condiment and ingredient in parts of Africa and the Middle East, used as a sauce in many yummy dishes. Tahini is essentially sesame paste; when mixed with water and a little salt, if makes a salty, nutty sauce that can be used as a topping on things like tofu, chicken and vegetables, or as a great salad dressing. This is the first time I've seen it used in a dessert other than Halvah. If you don't know what Halvah is, it is like a Turkish candy bar (pictured below). 

Halvah can also refer to any sweet, dense sesame seed treat, but this is the most recognized and commercial version in the West

Sesame seeds contain an abundance of vitamins and minerals such as copper, manganese, calcium, iron and vitamin B1, plus much more! That's a lot for such a small seed. These nutrients can help heal and prevent ailments such as arthritis, colon cancer, and osteoperosis. They also help to lower cholesterol and support bone health.

Have a happy Meatless Monday and do let me know if you try this unique recipe, and also if you decide to pass it on as well :)