Loving being back in my kitchen after a fantastic week’s holiday away…
Picked up Annabelle Langbein’s latest book on the way home from NZ which provided the inspiration for this tasty salad I whipped up, with a few adjustments, for my lunch this week.
Chinese 5 spice chicken cooked in coconut oil
Combined with baby spinach, almonds, orange, avocado, and chick peas
Served with a fresh orange juice and sesame oil dressing.
While cruising through the latest FoodGawker.com recipes, I came across Mehans Kitchen recipe for Coconut Date Energy Bites. They instantly took me back to my childhood of buying 1 cent fruit balls from the school canteen with my pocket money.
Feeling a little peckish I decided to give them a go. Looking in my cupboards I discovered I had most of the ingredients already, so simply substituted a few of the others to add my personal twist to the recipe.
These fruit balls are actually really quick and easy to make…
In a blender pulse together:
1 cup of oats (quick or rolled)
1 cup of shredded coconut
1 handful of chopped dried fruit (I used dried apricots, Mehans used dates but anything similar would work)
1 tablespoon of almonds (or whatever nuts / seeds you prefer)
Transfer to a bowl and mix in:
1 splash of vanilla essence (or try almond essence like Mehans)
1/2 cup water
You want the mixture to start coming together so you can shape into balls. Add more water if you need but don’t let it get too sticky. Then put them on a tray lined with grease proof paper, cover with cling wrap or put in a plastic container and pop in the fridge to set.
What you have is a delicious and healthy snack to eat between meals or for a quick energy boost before the gym.
I’m definitely going to try some different variations of ingredients once this batch have disappeared and would love to hear how you add your twist to this recipe too.
Enjoy!
DanyaFood 