I am perpetually on the look out for something both delicious and nutritious–whether savory or sweet.  These little protein packed nutritional bites are amazing!, and are  perfect for a hot day when baking is out of the question, when you need a grounding, delicious snack, or when your chocolate craving has you in a stronghold.  

INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup rolled oats or rolled spelt

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds or chopped raw almonds

1/4 cup hemp hearts

1 cup all natural peanut butter or raw almond butter

10 Medjool dates (if these are dry, soak for 1 minute in hot water and drain for 3-5 minutes)

1 T coconut oil

Himalayan sea salt

Cacao nibs

1/2 cup Sunspire chocolate chips (these are the healthiest and most delicious…. I get mine at vitacost.com)

PREPARATION:

Place your rolled oats or spelt, sunflowers or almonds, and a pinch of himalayan salt in a cast iron skillet on low/medium heat.  Stir constantly until very lightly toasted.  Add your hemp hearts and continue toasting and turning with a wooden spatula until they are perfectly toasted.  Remove from the pan when they are perfect, and spread them on a plate so they do not continue to toast, as they have a tendency to burn easily at this stage.

Place dates, nut butter of your choice and your coconut oil in a food processor .  Blend until the dates are well mixed in, with only small bits remaining.  Add the toasted nut and rolled oats/spelt mixture and pulse until blended.  

Roll into balls.  If the mixture is too dry when you press firmly, you can wet your hands before rolling a ball and this will help the mixture stick.  

In the meantime, melt your chocolate chips.   I prefer to place the chips in a small stainless steel bowl and set it on top of a pan with simmering water.  This way, I make sure not to overcook the chocolate, and can keep it soft.

Dip the tops of the balls (or roll the whole ball if you llllove you some chocolate) in the melted chocolate and place on a plate.  Sprinkle just a few cacao nibs on the top of the ball (if you like), and a tiny bit of salt — or go purist –and you’ve got some amazing amazing chocolate balls to enjoy and share with the whole family!