Let me start out by saying, these coconut lemon date balls (sugar free & vegan) are going to change your life! If like me, you’re on a health kick, these are going to curb those sugar cravings you’re probably having and the best thing is that they’re sugar & gluten free plus they’re vegan!
I’m not just trying to be healthy for a season – I’m trying to find a healthy lifestyle that’ll work for well… life. Not depriving myself of everything but equally not living as if what I put into my body doesn’t matter. I’m doing this by implementing a low carb diet, no processed sugars and no dairy (I’m lactose intolerant) but most importantly listening to my body.
If I have a craving for something sweet (daily occurrence) I’ll make a snack or dessert with natural sugars like dates, banana or honey. Because I know I get these cravings I’ve made an effort to prep some healthy sweet snacks so I don’t revert back to Cheesecake – oh cheesecake, there’s just nothing like it! Am I right?
The reason I love cheesecake is of course the lemon flavour so that’s what I had in mind when I came up with this recipe. I can’t get over the fact that these coconut lemon date balls are actually sugar-free, vegan and gluten free and yet they’re insanely delicious! So if you’re on the hunt for the perfect substitute for lemon cheesecake, you can stop the search. These have a great lemon kick, and definitely curb those sweet cravings plus you can whip them up in just a few minutes.
LEMON COCONUT DATE BALLS
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Ingredients
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 10-12 pitted Medjool dates
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Zest of 2 lemons
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 1 tablespoon hemp seed powder (optional)
Instructions
- If your dates are dry, first soak them in warm water for 15 minutes before adding them to the mixture.
- Firstly, pulse almonds in your food processor or blender, till they’re all chopped up. It’s better to have some larger pieces, you don’t want it to look like flour.
- Add your dates and give it a few pulses then add the lemon juice, zest, hemp seed powder and half of the desiccated coconut.
- Once all the ingredients are combined it will form a sort of soft dough.
- Use your hands to roll the dough into small bite sized balls. Sometimes damp hands can be helpful in the rolling process.
- Put the rest of your coconut into a small bowl and roll each ball in the coconut until they’re evenly coated.
- I put my date balls into the freezer for 10 minutes to allow them to settle but this isn’t necessary. You can eat them immediately or pop them in the fridge or freezer for later.
- I’m not entirely sure how long these will keep in the fridge because we always finish them within the week – they’re just too good!
Notes
* if you're wanting these to keep for a while pop them in the freezer and then on the day you're wanting to eat them, put them in the fridge to chill, and defrost slightly. ** If you don't have almonds you can use cashews or walnuts instead.
Please let me know if you make these and what you think of them, I’m so keen to hear your thoughts!
If you’re new to my blog I have a great recipe for healthy homemade granola and I’m thinking of doing a post on some healthy breakfast options, if you guys are interested in hearing about that!