Raw Sesame Ball Bites

If you like halava you will love this recipe! I broke my food processor when I made my Chocolate Pistacio  snack balls.  It was a sad day.  But all is well now!   My new one came yesterday and its way better then my old one!   Everything always has a silver lining, lol.

These are naturally sweetened, healthy, and totally raw! And if your balls come out more like logs, its okay, no one is judging…right??  LOL

Sesame Ball Bites:

• 6 medjool dates, pitted
• 2 cups almond flour
• 1/2 cup tahini
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup chia seeds
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• toasted sesame seeds for the outside

Put everything in a food processor except the toasted sesame seeds.  Pulse until everything is nicely mixed and grated up.  Take the “dough” and roll it in your hands into palm sized balls.  Roll in the toasted sesame seeds.  Put them in the freezer for 15 minutes to set, and enjoy!

Peanut butter Granola bars

I know I said the last granola bar recipe was going to be my last granola recipe, but I wanted to really show the versatility in making these.  So THIS is my last granola bar recipe.  I promise.

For this recipe, I replaced the coconut oil with peanut butter and almond butter.  Because all you really need is a fat of some kind.  (You could use butter, bananas)

I soaked my chia seeds this time because I was having an issue with the ones on the outside of my bars falling off.  I seem to have solved that problem this time.

Not only did these come out really crunchy, but they are also the cheapest granola bars I have made to date.  I just kind of threw them together with whatever I had on hand.  (Time to food shop!)

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1/4 coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup gluten free all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup natural peanut butter (nothing but peanuts)
• 2 tbsp natural almond butter
• 1/4 cup of chia seeds, soaked for a minute
• 1 1/2 cup nuts, dried fruits (I used a combination of pepitas and dried cranberries)

Pre heat an oven to 350 degrees, and oil a baking pan.  8×8 is a good size.  Mix all the ingredients in a bowl (I did this by hand) and then lay it all into the oiled pan, pressing it in flat making sure its even all around.  Cook for 20-30 minutes (it should be nice and browned on the top)  and then let it cool for at least 2 hours.  Cut into bars.

 

 

 

Chocolate Pistacio Snack Balls

 

These little guys pack a punch, and its as easy as throwing things into a food processor, and then rolling them into a ball.  They are basically raw, except the pistachios I used are roasted…but use sesame seeds or coconut on the outside instead and you have yourself a healthy raw snack.  This is another one that is really versatile.   I think next time I’ll use almond butter and walnuts, with sesame seed on the outside.

There’s no added sugar in these, being naturally sweetened by the dates.  They are also filled with healthy fats, lean proteins, and healthy carbohydrates for energy.  Plus pistachios are natural mood boosters, so eat and enjoy!

Chocolate Pistachio Snack Balls

• 1 cup almond flour
• 15 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp raw cacao
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1/3 cup shelled pistachios,

For the outside:

• ground up shelled pistachios

Process everything in a food processor until it becomes a thick paste.  Roll them into  palm sized balls and then roll them in the extra pistachios to coat them.    Place them in the freezer to set for a half hour.  Enjoy!

These stay good for a up to a week in the fridge, and up to two in the freezer.

Strawberry Pistachio Granola Bars

Okay, so I may be a little obsessed over Granola bars.  I’ve made 3 more batches since my last blog post.  I even ordered a bar pan from pampered chef.  It isn’t here yet, but I’m super excited about it.  I promise, this will be my last post  with a granola bar recipe because I think after this one you guys will get the point about how to make them, and how  customizable they are.  But this one is REALLY good, and I had to share.

I used coconut sugar in this recipe, which has trace amounts of nutrients, and a lower GI then regular sugar, so its at least a tiny bit healthier for you then using brown sugar but it  tastes about the same.  There’s also flax and chia seed in here for added omega 3’s and some weight loss boosters.   The preserve I used are natural, grape juice sweetened preserves, so make sure you read your ingredients,  you don’t want anything with high fructose corn syrup.  And of course, buy organic whenever you can!

Oh and my normal camera’s battery is dead so I had to take pictures with my cell phone, sorry about that.  These guys really deserve better photos.  I’ll take other ones later when the battery charges =)

Strawberry Pistachio Granola Bars

• 1 1/2 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 1/3 cup raw honey
• 1/4 coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup gluten free all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 1/2 cup nuts, dried fruits (I used a combination of pistachios, freeze dried strawberries, flax seeds, and chia seeds)
• Strawberry preserves

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees, and spray a 8×10 pan with oil.  Mix all the ingredients together, except the preserves.  I do this by hand.  When its all nicely combined, press most of  it into the pan, reserving about 1/4 of it for the top.  Spread a thin layer of the preservers over the top of the granola mix in the pan, I used the back of a spoon to do this.  Then top with the rest of the granola.  Bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.  Let it cool at least 2 hours, I stuck mine in the fridge over night. Its much easier to cut into bars after it has cooled off.

 

Cut into bars and enjoy!  These freeze great too.