Delicious Raw Cacao Balls

Do you regularly crave chocolate or a sugar fix? Me too! After every savoury meal. I also lack the willpower to suppress my inner sugar-addict for more than a couple of days. I often give into temptation and have just one chocolate cookie or just one row of galaxy which inevitably leads to another, and another etc etc. Yes, I’m that weak! Recently I’ve been researching healthy sweet treats that are low in sugar but still give my tastebuds a satisfying sweet kick.

Enter: raw cacao balls. My new favourite chocolate snack.

Raw cacao is basically cocoa beans that have been cold pressed into powder. It’s full of antioxidants and minerals including iron and magnesium. Your favourite chocolate bar doesn’t have these healthy attributes and instead contains lots of refined sugar and refined cocoa. Unsurprisingly raw cacao is having a moment in the world of healthy eating and amongst former sugar monsters.

After some mild scepticism I’ve spent the last few weeks perfecting batches of ‘healthy’ yet ‘delicious' raw cacao balls. Despite the main ingredient being dates, which are far from my favourite fruit, I’m delighted to report that they taste nutty and chocolatey. My sweet tooth is very satisfied. And each bite is almost guilt-free as they are way healthier than a chocolate biscuit. Plus, they take less than ten minutes to make.

To make a batch of 10 - 12 raw cacao balls you will need:

200g organic medjool dates pitted

1 tablespoon raw cacao powder

2 tablespoons ‘all natural’ peanut butter

40g hazelnuts

40g almonds

1 - 2 tablespoons of ‘all natural' honey

"No added sugar."

1. Put the dates, raw cacao powder and peanut butter in a food processor and blitz for a couple of minutes until you get a paste. It will start to clump together, if it firms one big dough ball just separate it with your fingers.

2. Add the nuts and pulse until they are quite fine and speckled throughout your ‘dough’.

3. Add a teaspoon of honey and mix again. Add more if your mixture looks dry. By this stage your ‘dough' will form easily into one big ball and is ready to roll into 12 equal sized balls.

4. For maximum pleasure pop your raw cacao balls in your fridge for at least two hours before tasting.

You can store them in your fridge for up to a week, however, its extremely unlikely they’ll last that long as they are super moreish. Hopefully you’re in agreement with me and my sweet tooth - raw cacao balls are indeed delicious! They give a great little energy boost pre workout and are ideal treats for children.

Unfortunately we cant trust food labels that shout 'low fat' or 'low calorie' as they typically mask a fat-inducing level of sugar. So, other than fresh fruit an honestly healthy sweet snack is difficult to find on the supermarket shelf. Put down that 'diet friendly' biscuit and grab a raw cacao ball or two.

Happy healthy snacking!