Description
One of my favorite recipes is Joy Balls. They’re easy to make, very nutritious, incredibly satisfying and can be stored in the freezer for a few weeks. Kids love them too, which is always a good litmus test for taste. In many ways they were the precursor to Zing Bars with their nut butter base. I came across this recipe 15 years ago during a 3 week elimination cleanse called Food is your Best Medicine put on by Charlie Cropley, ND in Boulder, CO. As fate would have it, I met my wife during the course, so there’s a personal tale behind this recipe as well. I’ll save that story for another time…
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 16 ounce jar almond (peanut or cashew) butter
- 1/3 16 ounce jar sesame tahini
- ½ cup honey or maple syrup (more or less as per preference)
- 3 tablespoon crushed walnuts
- ½ cup coconut flakes
- ½ – 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ – 1 teaspoon cardamom
Optional
- Finely chopped nuts such as pecans or Brazil nuts as well as pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds can be used to replace or accompany the walnuts.
- 1 – 2 tablespoons carob chips or dark chocolate chips can be added as well.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, mix almond butter and tahini, then add the honey which tends to firm up the mixture. If you’re using a jar of the tahini and almond butter, do not add the oil that collects on top as it will make the mixture too soft.
- Then stir in seeds, nuts, carob and spices.
- Finally, form the mixture into small balls. Pour the coconut flakes onto a separate plate and roll each ball individually in the coconut flakes, coating thoroughly. Resist the temptation to eat them all at once as they are quite filling! EnJoy.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1