Jennifer Thompson

This is something that I just threw together with what I had at home.. You can use pretty much whatever dried fruits you like as long as they are soaked in advance. Don’t be afraid to try your own combinations and see what magical blend you can create!

Raw Energy Balls are great for kids, perfect for traveling, and make a nice desert for the entire family. You can also bring them to a picnic or share with your work colleagues – even people who are afraid of the raw food diet seem to love them

Always check your nuts and dried fruits for any signs of mold before you soak them. If you see any white fuzz or obvious mold, it’s best to throw out the whole container and buy fresh again. Mold is the biggest thing to watch out for in dried fruits. With raw cashews, always split the cashews in half and check the insides – that is where the mold usually hides. Again, if you see any mold, get rid of them!

Ingredients Needed:

Raw almonds (peeled) – 1-1.2 cups
Raw dried dates (pitted) – 15-20 dates
Dries apricots – 8-10 apricots
Fresh tamarind (or tamarind paste) – about 1/3 cup (paste – 1/8 cup)
Virgin Organic Coconut Oil (3 Tbsp.)
Himalayan salt or sea salt, to taste
Organic Coconut Flakes

Soak Overnight:

• 1 -1.5 cups almonds
• 15-20 dates (pitted)
• 8-10 dried apricots

After about 12-15 hours, rinse your soaked items and put aside. Start to take even amounts of almonds to date to apricot ratios and blend them up in your mini-food processor. I usually add a pinch of Himalayan salt or sea salt and about 2 tsp. of fresh tamarind to each batch. For the above amount soaked, I would add about 1/3 – 1/4 cup fresh tamarind in total.

Tamarind has a wonderful sweet and sour taste that adds a different element to the sweetness of the dates. (If you can’t find it fresh, try to look for a tamarind paste in your local Asian market.)

Once the whole lot is blended, put it back into a bowl, and add about 3 Tbsp. virgin organic cold-pressed coconut oil.

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly with a spoon. (Your blend should be nice and creamy with no chunks of fruit or nut. If it’s chunky, put it back in the food processor for another round.)

Have another bowl ready with dried coconut flakes, in total about 1 cup of flakes.

Take your blended mix and form into small balls with your hands, then roll the ball around the coconut flakes until covered. Continue all all your mix is gone.

Let the energy balls refrigerate overnight or at least 6 hours just to form well and to allow the flavors to blend.

Then, start to share your Raw Energy Ball Love!

This recipe makes about 15 Energy Balls. Preparation time: About 1 hour.