Coconut Date Balls

If you just need a bite of something sweet in your life, why not try one or two of these Paleo-friendly treats. They’re great to throw into your lunchbox as an antidote to 3pm junk food cravings, but they’re also perfect as party snacks or dessert for a special occasion.

Just to be clear: this is candy. The fact that you’re using honey and dates for the sugar instead of table sugar or corn syrup doesn’t change that. If you make 30 balls with the recipe and eat two of them for a snack or dessert, you’ll be getting 17 grams of sugar – that’s more than you’d get from a cup of Froot Loops.

Of course the difference is that with homemade candy at least you’re in charge of all the ingredients so you can leave out the dangerous gut irritants and inflammatory junk oils that you’d get in store-bought candy. That makes the homemade version perfectly fine as a special treat: healthy metabolisms can handle that much sugar in occasional doses. If you’re trying to gain weight, it might even be a benefit! Just don’t convince yourself that a plate of Paleo candy is somehow a great substitute for eating a real lunch when you’re hungry, or that any kind of dessert is a great idea to have every day.

You can use any combination of your favorite nuts for the mixture: macadamias are the best choice from a nutritional standpoint, but it’s not such a big deal for an occasional treat when you’re eating a pretty small amount of nuts anyway – if you’ve got a favorite trail mix, this is a fun way to transform it into something new and special.

Coconut Date Balls Recipe

SERVES: 4 PREP: 15 min. COOK: 5 min.

Ingredients

• 1 cup dates, roughly chopped
• 2 eggs, beaten
• ½ cup. raw honey
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• ¼ cup ghee
• 2 cups mixed nuts, chopped small
• 1 cup coconut flakes
• ½ tsp. sea salt

Preparation

1. Combine the eggs, ghee, raw honey, and dates in a medium saucepan placed over a medium heat.
2. Bring everything to a boil, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes.
3. Remove from the heat, stir in the vanilla, and add in the sea salt.
4. Mix in the chopped nuts and stir until well combined.
5. Roll the mixture into small balls.
6. Roll each ball in the coconut flakes until well covered.
7. Refrigerate until firm.