Fiber and protein-rich raspberry creamsicle truffle balls
Summer is just around the corner, which means that berry season is in full swing and my fridge is practically overflowing with just about every kind of berry I can get my hands on.
Throughout the year, but especially during the summer months, it’s not unusual to find an entire shelf in my refrigerator dedicated to just berries. Normally, I don’t have to worry much about their short shelf life because they’re almost always gone before I have time to start to thinking about it. Between breakfast bowls, smoothies, homemade jams and my tendency to graze throughout the day, I’m lucky if a haul lasts longer than a couple of days.
But when there are those odd times that I can’t get through my produce fast enough, I do my best to avoid letting anything go to waste. Normally, I’ll freeze fruits and vegetables to use in smoothies; or use my dehydrator to make vegetable chips and dried fruit that I can add to trail mixes or granola.
But my absolute favorite thing to do when I have fresh, sweet berries of any kind that I have to use up, is to make a healthy dessert-like snack.
Since I was going to be on the go a lot this week, I went with the obvious choice: truffle balls. I love these because they’re delicious, easy to make and incredibly adaptable (in all of the years I have been making them, I don’t think I’ve ever made the same balls twice).
This is a great recipe if you’re looking for something sweet, but still healthy and light. It also has a ton of nutritional benefits.
For starters, they’re free of any refined sugars. When raspberries are in season, they’re outrageously sweet and flavorful, so there’s no real need for any added sugars. I did include a couple of dates, but only to help bind the dry ingredients. And for those, I went with oats and blanched almond flour, because of their creamy and slightly nutty flavors and because they both contain good amounts of dietary fiber and protein.
And of course, there’s coconut in there too, which help give the balls their amazing raspberry creamsicle-like flavor…and because you can’t call it a truffle ball if it doesn’t contain coconut.
Raspberry Creamsicle Truffles
Cook Time: 10 minutes | Yields: 12 medium size truffles
Ingredients
1 cup gluten free quick oats
1/2 cup blanched almond flour
1 pint of fresh raspberries
2 dates
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (set aside 1/4 cup for coating/rolling)
Directions
Combine all ingredients (and only half of the shredded coconut) in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds, on and off, until well blended.
Use hands or a spoon to scoop the blended mixture and roll into individual medium sized balls
Roll or press the truffles into the remaining coconut shreds to coat.
