Thursday, February 28, 2013

Flax Glowballs


A little chocolatey, a little coconut, and little almond combined with ground flax and oatmeal to make a truffle like energy snack that's both healthy and, I believe, vegan.  (Please let me know if I'm mistaken, and which ingredients make it not vegan.  I'm not well versed in vegan cooking.)  Unfortunately, I didn't actually taste these treats.  See, I meant to make them before giving up chocolate for Lent, but unfortunately I ran out of time and ended up making them on Ash Wednesday, so no taste-testing for me.  But them smelled amazing and I think the combination of cocoa, coconut and almost, with the added nuttiness of the oatmeal and the flax, would be quite decadent.  I don't believe the banana adds too much flavor, but I imagine you could swap that for applesauce if you think banana would be too much.  Dave wouldn't try these (I think he's afraid of flax), but I really do think I'll make these again for myself.

The Lean Green Bean

So why did I make a vegan chocolate treat I couldn't enjoy?  To share with my Foodie Pen Pal!  It's that time again, and Melanie, the mother of four I had the honor of treating to some fun foodie gifts this month, eats vegan and low fat, but I threw in some extras for her family.  On the other hand, I received an a-maze-ing box from Mitzi packed full of delicious goodies from Louisiana, where Mitzi is from.  Seriously, this was a never-ending box I kept reaching into and pulling out more and more wonderful snacks and meal-starters (and then some Mardi Gras beads!!).  Every month I look forward to Foodie Pen Pals, a concept thought up by Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean.  Go visit her blog to learn how to join--bloggers and non-bloggers are welcome!  Each month you'll have a chance to send a box full of goodies to on foodie while receiving a box from another foodie.  It's a great way to try new things and meet new people.


When Melanie told me she was vegan, I still wanted to include a homemade treat that she could enjoy, as well as share with her family.  But, since this isn't a cooking method I use often, so I wanted to make something with standard pantry ingredients.  Plus it had something I could ship.  These no-bake treats from Angela at Oh She Glows fit the bill.  I used a sugar substitute and sliced almonds and the mixture came together well.  The coconut didn't stick as readily as I'd hoped it would, but otherwise, I thought these turned out well.  I haven't heard from Melanie yet, but I hope they were great!  (Feel free to chime in and leave a comment letting us know the result, Melanie!)

Flax Glowballs


Ingredients

1 cup flax seeds or ground flax
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sugar substitute
2 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1 cup mashed bananas (2 medium bananas)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted or otherwise

Add flax seeds and oats to a blender and blend until ground to a flour-like consistency.



Place the flax and oats in a medium bowl and add sugar substitute and cocoa powder and whisk to combine.  Add banana and stir, creating a soft dough.  Stir in almonds.




Roll mixture into large balls.  Note: I used a medium cookie scoop to portion the mixture, then rolled with my hands.  Roll balls in shredded coconut to coat and arrange on a parchment lined pan.


 


Freeze balls for about an hour, then enjoy.

Makes a dozen truffles.

Happy Baking,
The Cookie Princess

Printer Friendly Recipe

2 comments:

  1. Colleen sent these to me for the February Lean Green Bean Foodie Penpals swap. Wow did she hit the spot as far as a tasty, healthy, vegan treat :)
    They tasted awesome! I let my children "taste" them, and then hid/hoarded/nibbled/savored them for the last two weeks. Yummy and good for you... what more can you ask for!

    Melanie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Melanie! I'm so glad you liked them and enjoyed the other treats in your box!

      Delete