Lemon and Coconut Bliss Balls

I am always trying different flavours of bliss balls, as well as experimenting with ones that contain nuts and ones that are nut-free so that Mark can take them to school. Recently, Mum and Dad came to visit and brought with them a big bag of lemons, so I needed to use them up, which is where these Lemon and Coconut Bliss Balls came into play.

Ordinarily, I would have made these with cashews or almonds, or a combination of the two, but in this case, I wanted these balls to be lunchbox friendly, so I made them with seeds rather than the nuts, which in my opinion, are not as delicious. The nuts seems to add a more smooth and creamy texture than the seeds.

The flavour combination of lemon and coconut is reminiscent of my childhood – the good old lemon and coconut slice, which, to be honest, one of my favourite parts of this slice being made was licking the condensed milk tin! Delicious! I will still happily enjoy a piece of lemon slice if I come across one, but it is nice to be able to create similar flavours in a way that is much more nutritious for both adults and kids.

Enjoy xx.

Ingredients:

Make ~25 balls

• 2/3 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/3 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/3 cup chia seeds
• 2/3 cup shredded coconut, toasted
• 12 medjool dates, pitted
• 1 tbs coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp finely grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract) or 1 tsp vanilla protein powder
• 1/3 cup desiccated coconut, for rolling

Method:

1. Place oats, seeds and toasted coconut into the bowl of a food processor and blitz until resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Remove from bowl and set aside.
2. Place dates into food processor and blitz on high until dates break up and then come back together to form a ball.
3. Place the oats and seeds mix in with the dates and add the coconut oil and lemon zest and blitz on high to break up the ball of dates.
4. Add the vanilla and lemon juice and blitz again until the mixture comes together and forms a large ball.
5. Place mixture into a medium sized bowl and refrigerate for 10 minutes.
6. In the meantime, place desiccated coconut into a small frypan and toast over medium heat until it turns golden brown. This happens quickly, so keep an eye on it.
7. Remove the mixture from the fridge and take a heaped teaspoon of the mixture, roll into a ball and roll in the coconut. Repeat with remaining mixture.
8. Refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze for 2-3 months (they won’t last that long)!