Month: June 2021

No-bake Coconut and Cashew Butter Energy Balls

Trying to find an energy bar that is safe to eat (for me that means no egg and no dairy) and actually tastes good is no small task! I have bought multiple assortments of bars that just try too hard to do everything…low carb, vegan, no sugar, high protein, etc. I’ve decided to just skip trying to find a commercial one that actually tastes good. I don’t need a bar for protein since I can eat meat and fish just fine. Actually, I’d like something that is not full of extra ingredients but will satisfy like a cookie. I just tried a recipe I found at this site, https://thepaleodiet.com. I think it will work!

Ingredients:

1 cup Cashew Butter (could substitute Almond Butter)

1 cup Medjool dates, pitted (I just got pitted dates at the health food store)

1/4 cup cashews, chopped

1 1/2 cup finely shredded unsweetened coconut

(Optional: Chopped walnuts, almonds or pecans; a dash of cinnamon).

Instructions:

  1. Add the cashew butter, dates, cashews and 1 cup of the coconut to a food processor. (I also added 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts.) Blend just until a workable dough is formed.

I just couldn’t believe that the sticky dates would chop up, so I put the 1 cup of coconut in a bowl, added the chopped dates and stirred them up. Then, I put them in the food processor.

Dates cut into 2 or 3 smaller chunks.
Sticky chunks of dates, coated with coconut.
Amazingly, it worked just fine!

2. Use a tablespoon to scoop the mixture out evenly. Roll into 10 balls. Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

This stuff was so sticky I quickly coated them with coconut just to get them off my hands! I ended up with 16 energy balls.

3. Roll the balls in the remaining shredded coconut.

Since they were already coated with coconut I didn’t have to do it again.

This recipe made 16 energy balls. The smaller ones chilled faster and were easier to eat.

My assessment of these Coconut/Cashew Butter Energy Balls:

These tasted great and were a very satisfying snack. They took only a few minutes to mix up. It probably took longer to wash the cashew butter mixture from the food processor container than to mix them up!

If you need a handy snack this summer, I would highly recommend whipping up a batch of these no-bake energy balls! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.

Garden Update June 3, 2021

It’s always encouraging to see how much the garden has grown in two weeks…especially with enough rain on a regular basis! Two weeks ago (May 21) this is what the lettuce and radishes looked like:

May 21, 2021

Today, the radishes are ready to pull and I could make a small salad with the lettuce:

June 3, 2021
Radishes ready for a salad!
Ready for the next batch of seeds!

These are the seeds I planted. I’m pleased with how they did.

The raised planter gets two thumbs up from me! It was easy to keep an eye on the plants…easy to water, thin and harvest without breaking my back! Thank you Kathy and Steve!

Most of the garden looks pretty good too:

Spearmint
Cucumber
Chamomile
Lemon Balm and Stevia (I’ve had to cut back the Stevia. It kept trying to make blossoms and I wanted a bigger plant).
Basil and Rosemary
Rosemary and Thyme
Lavender with carrots on the left. Barely poking through the ground!
Close up of the carrots.. 🙁
Green and Wax beans perking up.
Tomatoes have blossoms!
The Echinacea we started from seed still looks tiny compared to the three plants I bought. Oh well!

At the moment, the rain barrels are full to the brim, the big tank in the garden is full too. So, when it decides to stop raining (which often happens in the middle of the summer when we need it most) we’ll be able to keep the garden consistently watered.

Thanks for letting me share the garden with you! Enjoy!

Please comment or email me directly at marykisner@comcast.net.