Date and Pecan Energy Balls

Do not make these for school. Make these for yourself, and hoard them in your freezer. Don't tell your husband they are there. I repeat: do not tell your husband they are there. My son said they taste like caramel. I've long held that date and pecan together have some kind of alchemy. Anyway, these don't taste like they are good for you. When you want a sweet bite after dinner or a little nibble to keep you going, these fit the bill.

2 cups shredded coconut
1/4 cup ground chia
1 cup hemp hearts
1 cup pecans

3/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground vanilla bean
1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 1/2 cup dates


1 tbsp vanilla extract
up to 1/4 cup water


1. process the coconut, ground chia, hemp hearts, and pecans with the sea salt, ground vanilla, and cinnamon.
2. then add the dates, and pulse until fully deconstructed
3. finally, process in the vanilla extract and as little water as you can to form a homogeneous dough
4. let it sit for a little while, then roll into balls, and roll the balls in shredded coconut.
5. store in the freezer.

Strawberry Banana Smoothie -- gluten free, vegan, sugar free fun

My son asked for this, so I made it. I'm not a big fan of 'drinking your calories' for children, but sometimes a special treat is in order. Does that make me sound like one of those terrible controlling mothers? Probably.

ingredients:

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
1/2 cup frozen strawberries
1 small banana (or 1/2 of a banana)
a few drops of vanilla stevia to taste, depending on how sweet the berries are


directions:

1. pour the almond milk over the frozen strawberries (or use fresh if you like) and let sit for a few minutes until the berries soften and defrost a little
2. when the berries are a little less frozen, blend with an immersion blender (or use  a jar blender if you've got one)
3. add the banana and vanilla stevia and process until smooth
4. serve


This is like a milk shake in my opinion.