Rêveuse Recipe: Vegan Cashew and Date Energy Balls

Reflecting back on 2020, although we have witnessed and felt hardships and emotional times amongst our circle, we are also trying to learn and embrace the beauty of living. For us, we are going to spend more time trying new things and thus finding the endless possibilities that might or might not result in magic!

 Health has swiftly become a huge priority for most of us. Last year we were able to work from home, which meant that we transformed a part of our living space into a sanctuary for working out, eating and resting. Exercising has always been a positive addition to our daily life, so last year we spent more time working out at home, prancing along to Pamela Reifs workouts. Unfortunately though, the positive active results it had on our body wasn't correlating the best with our diet, as we were making A LOT of buttery sugary treats (which you can read here!). Not to say that we shouldn't enjoy the odd dessert but when we eat, we have no control! 

And so, with one of our sisters partaking in her annual veganuary month, we thought we could also challenge ourselves by incorporating healthier dessert alternatives to our diet. A few years back we both remember trying out the infamous Deliciously Ella energy balls. Unfortunately, they just weren't to our tastebuds (maybe they were the flavours we chose!?) but we decided to give the idea of energy balls again with ingredients we enjoy, such as cashews over almonds. Once we made these we found our magic and regretted not making the whole batch! These are so delicious that it almost doesn't seem as if you're eating healthy nuts and fruits in the small bite, its almost like you're eating a rich gooey truffle. It's also insanely quick to make and can be stored to have as a snack for busy days. In this recipe it was also our first time experimenting with date syrup which we researched about beforehand. It adds that rich almost molasses flavour but you can also add your favourite sweetener such as agave syrup, honey etc. We would love to experiment more with these little delicious healthy morsels like adding goji berry and dried apricots. Let us know if you've made these before and what you like to add in yours!

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup of cashew nuts

10 dates

1 heaped tbsp cacao powder

1 tablespoon date syrup

1 tablespoon date syrup

1 tablespoon cashew nut butter 

1/2 cup dessicated coconut

SERVES: Approx 10 bitesized balls
DURATION: 15 minutes

RECIPE
In a food processor blitz together the cashews, date, 1tsp of date syrup and the cacao powder.

It should resemble dry crumbs at this stage. Bind it further by adding either another tablespoon of date syrup or a tablespoon of the cashew nut butter for more flavour of nut of date! We added the date syrup.

Next, pour out the wetter mixture into a ball and give it a quick mix to check consistency. It should be almost like a thick paste and not crumbly. Roll the mixture into small bite sized balls and coat with the desiccated coconut shreds. 

The balls can be stored for up to a week in an air tight container. 

Enjoy!