One of my all-time favorite desserts is the Lindt Lindor Truffle.   You can read more about my love affair with those here. They are luscious, creamy dreamy little bites of heaven. At the start of 2015 I went on a 10-day raw food cleanse. During the cleanse I got a bad Jones for the truffles. As to not give in and break my cleanse, I had to come up with a viable solution and here it is. Love at first bite. And it’s guilt free indulgence as it contains only good for you ingredients. I make a batch and put them in the freezer (they do not require doing so) and eat just one at a time to exercise discipline. And when I eat it, I slowly savor each tiny bite. So take this post with you to your natural food store, grab the ingredients and whip up a batch. Perhaps you already have these ingredients already in your pantry. Yay for a well stocked pantry. You can even find little raw bites like these for sale in your natural food store but they are way too expensive. Once you have these ingredients in your pantry, you can make these time and again for a fraction of the cost you’d spend buying them in the store. You can also use some of these ingredients to make one of my favorite smoothies.

SMOOTHIE: Black Forest Smoothie

So without further adieu, onto our little tasty bites of chocolate goodness.

RAW CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

12-14 medjool dates

¼ heaping cup raw cacao powder + 3 tbsp

½ cup walnuts

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp water

small pinch salt

Shredded unsweetened coconut (optional)

Crushed pistachios (optional)

In the food processor blend the nuts until they are finely chopped. Do not over blend, as you do not want to make a paste or butter. Next add the dates, ¼ cup cacao powder, vanilla, water and salt. Blend until it forms a smooth sticky mixture. Lightly wet your hands, grab a small amount and roll between your palms to form balls. Then roll the balls in the remaining cacao powder, or coconut, or crushed nuts.

Guilt free, chocolate indulgence at its best. Enjoy!

To read more about the health benefits of raw cacao powder click here.

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!