Espresso and oat truffles. No sugar, no butter, no flour.

Guys and gals, this is sooo good! First time I made a small batch, perhaps 5 or 6 truffle balls, just to test them. Second time I made a hundred of them and brought them to work. They were all gone in a few hours, even the notice paper (photo below). Did they eat the paper?? 

Some comments I received:
"Thank you very much for the Birthday treats, very yummy.  Please may I have the recipe."

"Hi Vidmantis
Happy Birthday! Thanks for the lovely, sweet (sugar-free!) truffles.
Can I have the recipe, if it's not a guarded secret? I have some vegan friends coming for dinner next Saturday, and I always struggle to come up with a good pudding. These would be great!"

If you like chocolate, you MUST try them. They taste just like chocolate truffles, but there is no chocolate in them. Recipe at the bottom of the post.

Before making the 100 truffles I had a conversation with Auste:

-Me: “It’s gonna take me ages to make them...”
-Auste: "I'll help you".  
-I look at her after 2 seconds and guess what I see!

100 truffles later...

To make 15 truffles you need:

15 large medjool dates, pitted [or normal dried dates soaked in water]
4 tbsp rolled oats (not instant, quick-shmick oats)
2 tbsp dried shredded coconut, unsweetened
2 tbsp extra virgin coconut [olive] oil, room temperature
2 tbsp cacao powder
½ tsp vanilla extract or ground vanilla
½ tsp ground cardamom [nutmeg]
1 shot cold espresso

1) Mix all the ingredients in a food processor for about 1 minute or until it forms up like a ball. (I used a fork to mash the soaked dried dates and it worked OK)

2) Place the mixture in the fridge for about 10 minutes.

3) Form small round truffles with your hands.

4) Roll the truffles in cocoa powder, finely chopped almonds, shredded coconut or rolled oats.

5) Place in the fridge for 20 minutes before serving.

Coconut oil has more flavour than olive oil, and has a higher burning (smoking) point, but olive oil in this recipe worked fine. I didn’t have cardamom, therefore used a teeny tiny bit of nutmeg as its flavour is quite dominant.

If you haven't already, you need to start following 'Green Kitchen Stories'. Their family is beautiful, creative and inspiring, sharing the love for healthy vegetarian food. This recipe was posted by them a while ago, but as it is so good, it needs to come to light once more. I have **slightly** modified the recipe, but it was still delicious.

Flour-free chocolate-banana energy bars

Don't be THAT guy:

How much would you pay for a full day's swimming, sauna, steam room and a well equipped gym session at a quality fitness suite? 

Exactly, £1 !

My Christmas present for myself was a 12-day access for £12 at a modern yet cosy fitness centre. The fresh smell and the splashy sound of the swimming pool when you walk in is priceless (well, not really priceless - I just put a price to it at the top!).

You feel like a pregnant tortoise when trying to do sit-ups on a full stomach and you can't exercise at all when your stomach is demanding energy to fuel your primary bodily functions. I wish one and all the ability to plan your meals!  

If you're running to the market, stopping at the post office, at a shop, grabbing a coffee while checking your emails and meeting someone on top of that, you may not have time to calculate how much food you may need that day. 

That's why I am making my own energy bars! They have no flour and consist of many ingredients, giving you a diverse range of nutrients.

And they're delicious!

(It's coincidental that I am posting something healthy today as I had a big fat pizza last night :D  )


Ingredients:

3 ripe bananas, mashed
150g yoghurt
2 eggs
50g honey

100g chopped dates (if you have no love for dates, don't worry - you won't feel them)
50g bran/linseed/wheatgerm/chia - any ground seeds really
100g ground [hazel]nuts
1 tsp baking powder
250g oats
3 tbsp [sunflower] seeds
100g dark chocolate, chopped


Directions (similar to flapjack)
 
1) Heat oven to 200 C;
2) Mix bananas, yoghurt, eggs and honey;
3) Add the rest of ingredients and mix well;
4) Fill a shallow baking tray and bake for 25 mins.