Nut free chocolate bliss balls

These nut free chocolate bliss balls are a simple lunchbox friendly snack, using only 7 whole food ingredients, and optional medicinal herbs. They are filled with healthy fats, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and taste amazing. 

Everybody loves a good bliss ball-yeah? Quick, easy and stores well in the fridge, plus tasty and healthy. 

I love these lunch-box friendly chocolate balls for so many reasons.

• They’re NUT free and lunch friendly.
• They’re low in allergens, being nut, dairy, grain, gluten and egg free. They do contain sesame seeds though.
• They are so much cheaper than store bought.
• You can make a double batch and freeze half, making them a time saver
• They are filled with nutritious seeds like hemp and chia that support optimal brain function (ie- they are a great study food!)

What equipment you’ll need

You will need cup measurements or scales ( I always use scales as they are more accurate) and a food processor. As this mixture is very thick it is recommenced that you avoid using a blender, however if that is all you have it can be done. If you are using a blender, here are you basic steps:

• Add the sunflower seeds to a very dry blender and blend until a fine meal is formed. Scrap the meal into a large mixing bowl and set aside. Add the hemp seeds next, and repeat this process. Next, add the shredded coconut and again repeat this process.
• To the mixing bowl (which will now have the ground sunflower seeds, hemp hearts and coconut) add the cocoa, chia seeds, reishi and orange oil/zest. Mix well and set aside.
• Now, add the pitted dates and the tahini to the blender and blend until a paste has formed. This will be quite hard work for the blender, and you will need to use the tamper to get everything moving.
• Scrape the date tahini paste into the bowl.Use a rubber spatula to really scrape the blender clean and get all of the mixture in.
• Now, throughly combine everything together very well. This will take a few minutes and the result should be a moist and uniform mixture that easily holds together. You are now ready to roll your bowls (see recipe card below).

Ingredients you will need for the Super seed chocolate bliss balls.

You will need the following:

• Sunflower seeds. You could substitute for almonds, rolled oats or cashews, just follow the weight measurement and not the cup measurement. I like to use activated sunflower seeds, like these ones here. 
• Hemp hearts/seeds. Hemp is one of my favourite ingredients, being a great source of plant based omega 3s. Try to choose hemp hearts that have been kept away from heat/direct sunlight, and ensure you store them in your fridge.
• Chia seeds. Another wonderful seed, packed full of protein and omega 3. Chia seeds also act as a wonderful binder as they soak up an extraordinary amount of liquid and form a gel-like substance. Try not to substitute the chia seeds in this recipe, as they do help the balls hold.
• Shredded coconut. Coconut adds both an interesting texture and natural sweetness, plus is a great source of whole food fats. Plus- it’s cheap and easy to access.
• Cocoa or cacao. It really doesn’t matter which one you choose. Raw cacao powder generally is considered to be more nutrient dense (and free from chemical processing) whiled Dutched cocoa has a wonderful intense flavour and gives the balls a dramatic colour that is very enticing (but note, it is chemically processed). I have used both and think they both work wonderfully. This is my favourite cacao powder. 
• Reishi powder. This is an optional ingredient, however its is a great medicinal extra to add to your bliss balls. Beware that reishi is a very bitter mushroom, and has a strong earthy taste. You will do best to start with a smaller amount and increase the amount of reishi each time you make these balls until you have found your threshold. I add a full 2 Tbsp or reishi to mine, but it does create a bitter end result (which I don’t mind).
• Hulled tahini. Tahini is sesame paste and can be found at most supermarkets, middle eastern grocers and health food shops. Good quality tahini should be runny and have a pleasant flavour- so if you have an old jar of tahini in the cupboard that you don’t enjoy the taste of, its highly likely the product has gone rancid. Tahini is packed full of calcium, and is a wonderful addition to any diet (except for those with a sesame allergy, of course!)
• Dates. You want the fresh plump dates that are found in the fridge or online here. I love to make these with fermented dates too, as a sugar-free option, but note that you will need to use more dates than listed in the recipe. 
• Orange essential oil or orange zest. Another optional ingredient, but pairs wonderfully with both cacao and tahini. ENSURE any essential oil you use is FOOD GRADE.

Using dates for the nut free chocolate bliss balls

This recipe calls fro fresh dates, however these can be both hard to access and expensive. Personally we have dates as a sometimes food in our house. They are crazily expensive here is Australia, and at the rate we go through them it is just not feasible to have them all the time.

You can exchange fresh dates (I use Medjool- they are always in the fridge section of the produce part of the supermarket) for dried dates, however it is not just a simple 1:1 exchange. You will need to;

1. Double the amount of dates. This recipe calls for 12 FRESH, soft dats and you would need to exchange that for at least 24 dried dates.
2. Soak the dates prior to use. Soak the dried dates in boiling water for 10 minutes and THEN you must squeeze all the excess water out that you can. Leaving excess water in the dates will mean you balls become more soggy, wet and sticky. Ideally you want to put the dates into a nut milk bag (or cheesecloth) and squeeze all excess water out. Trust me, its worth the extra effort here.

These nut free chocolate bliss balls pretty are simple recipe, and a great snack filled with plant based, whole food ingredients. If you make these please leave a review or comment below- we love to hear from you!

If you liked this recipe, you may also like:

• Grain free choc chip Santana cookies
• Chocolate paleo and vegan cupcakes 
• Healthy peanut butter fudge
• Superfood seed snack bars

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