Chocolate Coconut Sesame Bliss Balls
I don’t think I’m the only one that loves snacks - especially snacks that are easy to grab and take on the go! If I’m working and in between client calls or racing out for a bike ride with my son, snacks are life. Vegan snacks with lots of nutrients and healthy fats are even better.
I think back to my postpartum days where my nutritionist friend was running a little bliss ball company and her deliveries were pure joy at 3 am. One handed eating is a skill that gets mastered postpartum so these make great gifts for your loved ones with littles.
I’ve made them without coconut, but the recipe does call for rolling the balls in coconut at the end. So if you’re not a coconut fun, no stress.
My now neighbour, and previous plant-based friendly face, shared this recipe from a magazine with me as her favourite thing to make friends postpartum. They are also one of the only snacks my son will eat at daycare aside from crackers. I’ve tweaked the recipe because this girlie isn’t a big fan of cranberries. I’ve followed expert foodie substitution advice and used sunflower seed butter instead of peanut butter.
benefit of ingredients
In Traditional Chinese Medicine, lots of seeds and dark coloured foods (think black sesame seeds, beets) are recommended. I’ve seen many Doctors of TCM. Black sesame seeds are great at addressing the yin deficiency in the kidneys and liver. As a nutritionist, I love that sesame seeds are a source of calcium. We need calcium for bone health, not dairy.
Pumpkin seeds are a wonderful plant-based source of zinc. Zinc is helpful for immunity, stomach acid production and skin health. When doing a DUTCH hormone test with clients, I always look at their aromatase activity - the conversion of testosterone to estrogen. Zinc plays a role in this conversion and is helpful for clients suffering heavy periods, PMS or cyclical matalgia (tender breasts).
Sunflower seeds and butter are a source of healthy unsaturated fats, protein, fibre, potassium, iron, magnesium, B6 and some calcium. There is some research B6 may be helpful for PMS.
Cacao and dark chocolate are great sources of magnesium, which we love as it’s really challenging to get enough magnesium from food alone. Cacao is higher in saturated fat (I don’t worry since I personally don’t eat dairy/meat), but what’s really neat is it’s also high in steric acid. Steric acid, a saturated fat, doesn’t raise LDL cholesterol. We care about our saturated fat intake as it’s linked to cardiovascular health, diabetes and even intestinal permeability.
Raw oats are a prebiotic, food for your gut bacteria. It’s important to get a mix of prebiotics and probiotics for your gastrointestinal health to thrive. Hot tip: for diversity of gut bacteria, I recommend counting how many plants you eat each week.
I personally choose organic ingredients, but use what you have.
Ingredients
Makes 16 jumbo, easily 25 regular sized
1 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sunflower seed butter
1 cup pumpkin seeds
1 cup raisins
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (or more!)
2 tbsp cacao or chocolate protein powder
pinch of sea salt
1 cup black sesame seeds
1 cup rolled oats
option to further sweeten with maple syrup
unsweetened coconut flakes to coat, optional
Recipe
add everything to a big bowl aside from the coconut and mix with your hands
form into balls
add coconut shreds to a bowl and coat balls
store in fridge or freezer
Notes:
If dry, you can add more sunflower seed butter or a little soy milk to make it more moist
I used to food process this because I like the pumpkin seeds on the smaller side, but it’s much easier to chop the seeds to the desired size and throw it in a big bowl to hand mix. If you love cranberries, add in a cup and adjust liquids accordingly.