Walnut Coconut Power Balls

If you like these as much as we do, you may want to plan a heavy workout before you make them!  Since they are sweetened using dates, each ball has approximately 6g of sugar, making them perfect post-soccer snacks, but not something you would want to take to the couch as you pound back a 6-pack!

Speaking of sugar, I don’t know about you, but I would rather eat my treats any day than drink them. One can of soda has approximately 33g of sugar! I can’t even fathom how I used to drink that stuff regularly. It makes me cringe now. The next time you feel the need for a soda, try adding the juice of half a lemon and a tbsp of apple cider vinegar to a glass of Perrier. It’s the best invention ever. I’m pretty sure I learned about that drink from Food Matters, so props to them for that one!

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Walnut Coconut Power Balls

  • 2 cups walnuts
  • 1 cup Medjool dates (about 12, pitted)
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 1/2 cup shredded coconut
  • 1/4 cup cocoa powder
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp sea salt
  • Shredded coconut for covering.

Place walnuts in a food processor and pulse until fine.

Add the dates, almond flour, shredded coconut, cocoa powder, coconut oil, and sea salt. Pulse until thoroughly combined.

Roll into golf ball sized balls and roll in shredded coconut.

Store in the fridge.

Sour Cream Kale Chips

I make sure there is a healthy supply of these kale chips in the pantry at all times.  They put packaged sour cream chips to shame in both the health and flavour categories and are the perfect no guilt snack for movie night!

I used to grab a bag of kale chips for $8.99 every time I went to the health food store.  The thing is, they’re actually really easy to make, and your dollar will stretch further.  Here is the catch: a food dehydrator is highly recommended.  We have the Excalibur 9-tray, which runs around $260 CAN – totally worth the price tag.

You can always make them in the oven by using the lowest heat setting, but you’ll have to check and mix often to avoid burning.  Since I pretty much forget everything all the time, I prefer to use the dehydrator rather than end up with burnt kale chips!

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Sour Cream Kale Chips

  • 1 large head of kale
  • 1 1/2 cups cashews
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup hemp seeds
  • 1/4 cup diced chives
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tbsp coconut sugar
  • 1/2 tsp sea salt

Pull kale leaves off of stalk and rip into bite sized pieces.  Wash and dry using a salad spinner, getting as much water off as possible.  Set aside.

Place the rest of the ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Add more water if necessary.

If you don’t have a high speed blender, blend ingredients in a regular blender until as smooth as possible.  Let sit in the blender for 30 minutes and then re-blend until smooth!  This is my “pre-soak the cashews” life hack.

Pour the sour cream mixture onto the kale and mix thoroughly.  Use your hands and get messy to ensure every tiny piece of kale is covered!

Spread kale out onto non-stick dehydrator sheets and dehydrate at 118 F until the top is dry and crisp, about 2-3 hours.  Turn over onto the mesh screen (removing the non-stick sheet) and dehydrate until fully dry.  Store in an air-tight container or devour all at once.  You know you want to.

Creamy Coconut Cashew Nut Milk and a Creamy Strawberry Shake

Creamy Coconut Cashew Nut Milk

2 cups filtered water
1 cup cashews
2 tbsp coconut butter
4 dates
1 tsp vanilla extract (or 1/4 of a vanilla bean, seeds only)

Place all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  If you don’t have a high speed blender like the vitamix, you can place all ingredients in a blender and let them sit for a couple of hours until the cashews and dates soften.

I HIGHLY recommend investing in a vita-mix.  It’s so powerful that it can turn an ipod into dust – I’m sure you can find some interesting videos on youtube.  I use my vita-mix at least 4 times a day.  You can make nut milks without having to use a strainer, and make the smoothest raw cheesecake you’ve ever tasted.

And since I happened to have fresh strawberries in the fridge – voila!  Instant strawberry shake.

Silky Strawberry Smoothie

Creamy Strawberry Shake

1 batch Creamy Coconut Cashew Nut Milk
1 cup fresh strawberries

Blend all ingredients in a high powered blender until smooth.

The funny thing about strawberries is that when you pick them yourself, their size range from that of a raspberry to…a slightly larger raspberry! They taste so sweet and just downright incredible.  When you buy them imported from who knows where, they’re the size of peaches and they taste sour and just gross!  If you missed them this time around, don’t miss out on picking your own (or buying, although picking your own can be fun) local berries next season!