Apricot Coconut Truffles.

Hi everyone! This week has felt extremely long for some reason and I am counting down the hours until the weekend.  I really feel like I have to catch up on sleep since I've been having awful sleeps all week.  It’s basically taking me over an hour to fall asleep and then when I do, I wake up a few times during the night.  It’s the most frustrating thing ever!! I guess the late night green tea’s could be the culprit…

The lack of sleep is making me feel extra sluggish and all I want to do is sit on the couch with a bag of chips watching Parks and Recreation. Instead of that full bag of chips I only ate half (oops) and then decided to make these healthy apricot truffle balls (found at littlefigblog.com). I think the best thing for binge snacking is to have an array of already made healthy snacks available to you.  If your fridge is stacked with yogurt, chopped fruits and veggies, hummus, etc then at least you’re more inclined to grab one of those. Also the key to healthy snacking is to change it up. If you only snack on an apple every day after work then of course you’re going to get sick of it and want something amazing like a toblerone cheesecake (or maybe its just me?)!  

You gotta get creative with your snacking and make fun things like apple and peanut butter sandwiches, greek yogurt with chia seeds and cocoa powder topped with berries, no-bake energy bites or these apricot truffle balls that I really enjoyed! The apricot coconut truffles are really tasty and the almonds give them a nice crunch. They are very easy to make and make the perfect snack for a much needed energy boost.  I had all of the ingredients on hand and it took me about 10 to 15 minutes to pulse in the processor and get these guys all rolled up and dusted in cocoa powder.  You can also play around with ingredients and use variations such as vanilla extract instead of almond, shredded coconut for dusting instead of cocoa powder, add in a tbsp of protein powder, etc.  Experiment all you want and let me know if you discover some great variations! These truffles are gluten-free, vegan and practically raw, how could you not love them?

Apricot Coconut Truffles

*makes approximately 12 truffles

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups dried apricots

½ cup slivered raw almonds

¼ shredded coconut or flaked dry coconut

¼ tsp almond extract

Zest of ½ an orange

Pinch of sea salt

2 to 3 tbsp of Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except cocoa powder, in your food processor.  Pulse until chopped.  Using your hands, form the mixture into bite-sized balls. Roll apricot balls in cocoa powder to coat.

Refrigerate truffles for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  These truffles will keep for at least 5 days in the fridge stored in an air-tight container.

Happy Snacking!

Hi everyone! This week has felt extremely long for some reason and I am counting down the hours until the weekend.  I really feel like I have to catch up on sleep since I've been having awful sleeps all week.  It’s basically taking me over an hour to fall asleep and then when I do, I wake up a few times during the night.  It’s the most frustrating thing ever!! I guess the late night green tea’s could be the culprit…

The lack of sleep is making me feel extra sluggish and all I want to do is sit on the couch with a bag of chips watching Parks and Recreation. Instead of that full bag of chips I only ate half (oops) and then decided to make these healthy apricot truffle balls (found at littlefigblog.com). I think the best thing for binge snacking is to have an array of already made healthy snacks available to you.  If your fridge is stacked with yogurt, chopped fruits and veggies, hummus, etc then at least you’re more inclined to grab one of those. Also the key to healthy snacking is to change it up. If you only snack on an apple every day after work then of course you’re going to get sick of it and want something amazing like a toblerone cheesecake (or maybe its just me?)!  

You gotta get creative with your snacking and make fun things like apple and peanut butter sandwiches, greek yogurt with chia seeds and cocoa powder topped with berries, no-bake energy bites or these apricot truffle balls that I really enjoyed! The apricot coconut truffles are really tasty and the almonds give them a nice crunch. They are very easy to make and make the perfect snack for a much needed energy boost.  I had all of the ingredients on hand and it took me about 10 to 15 minutes to pulse in the processor and get these guys all rolled up and dusted in cocoa powder.  You can also play around with ingredients and use variations such as vanilla extract instead of almond, shredded coconut for dusting instead of cocoa powder, add in a tbsp of protein powder, etc.  Experiment all you want and let me know if you discover some great variations! These truffles are gluten-free, vegan and practically raw, how could you not love them?

Apricot Coconut Truffles

*makes approximately 12 truffles

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups dried apricots

½ cup slivered raw almonds

¼ shredded coconut or flaked dry coconut

¼ tsp almond extract

Zest of ½ an orange

Pinch of sea salt

2 to 3 tbsp of Dutch processed unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:

Combine all ingredients, except cocoa powder, in your food processor.  Pulse until chopped.  Using your hands, form the mixture into bite-sized balls. Roll apricot balls in cocoa powder to coat.

Refrigerate truffles for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.  These truffles will keep for at least 5 days in the fridge stored in an air-tight container.

Happy Snacking!