SOME SWEET RECIPES FOR YOU

[Guest guest]

These healthy recipes should satisfy the keenest of sweet teeth!! I use raw

honey when poss as it's at it's most natural at that point (a lot of runny honey

goes through a heat process that takes out all the goodness) ... If you like the

savoury recipe, try using different seeds, put the mixture on different bases

(oat biscuits, rye bread etc!)

MACHINE I USE FOR THE MINCING

(AND IT'S THE BEST JUICER I'VE EVER COME ACROSS! )

It juices with a blunt swirly contraption and the motor works in a way that

`slow juices' so it holds more vitamins. The machine is also very quiet – which

is so much nicer! – and it separates pith/pips etc. You do have to remove orange

skins etc, but apples can just be chopped up and fed through with all the parts

and a perfect juice will come out. I can peel and make orange juice from 6

oranges and clean the machine in 5 minutes!) ... I've never used detergent on

it. I just wash it under a warm tap and use a brush/cloth as soon as I've used

it.

http://www.livingpure.co.uk/oscar-vitalmax-900-juicer-p-287.html

(try other sites to compare prices)

Raw Energy Balls (the original Thai recipe I learned)

200 grams of fresh dates (you need to use top quality, pudgy dates, toffee like

in consistency, not hard ones!)

200 grams of ground almonds

100 grams coconut snow

Mince the dates (remember to remove all stones if you want your machine left in

one piece!)

Mix with almonds

Roll in coconut snow

& #8195;

Below are MY versions of the above!! I play around with the ingredients and make

`to taste.'

I always start with some ground almonds and sesame seeds (I now use equal

amounts of both, but you can use whatever suits your taste buds best) ...

I add the dates next and

.... when I add lemon juice and honey I do it slowly, mix everything with my

hands and taste with a small spoon as I add (it's impossible to do with an

implement and it's a VERY messy job (!) so it's worth having all your

ingredients – and a few little spoons for tasting - ready to grab, as your hands

will be completely sticky throughout this process).

If the mixture gets too wet, I add some more nuts/seeds. If it's too dry, more

lemon juice or honey.

With the lemon sweets: Always have plenty of ingredients ready to use as you

experiment, as the balance has to be right or the sweets end up to tart or too

sweet.

With the other sweets: Always have plenty of ingredients ready to use as you

experiment, just because you put chocolate marks all over the kitchen if you

don't – or you have to wash your hands constantly and whichever batch you're

making, you'll wash off and waste tons of the ingredients in the process!

& #8195;

RAW LEMON AND HONEY ENERGY BALLS

Minced Dates

Ground Almonds

Sesame Seeds

Lemon Juice

Plain Runny Honey (no strong flavours or it will interfere with the flavour)

Mix all the ingredients together, roll into bite sized or larger balls and roll

in dried coconut snow (this is sold as desiccated coconut)

My Thai friends also suggest mixing lemon juice AND apricot juice into their

original recipe. Maybe try it with this version above. Could be interesting!

RAW CHOCOLATE AND ORANGE ENERGY BALLS

Minced Dates

Ground Almonds

Sesame Seeds

Orange essence (buy the quality `essence' not the chemical `flavours')

Plain Runny Honey (no strong flavours or it will interfere with the flavour)

Natural Raw Cacao Powder

Mix all the ingredients together, roll into bite sized or larger balls and roll

in cacao powder (you can roll in other coatings – such as vermicelli – but these

sweets are so healthy that vermicelli, although it looks prettier than raw

chocolate powder, tastes very plastic in comparison to the sweets ... I've also

rolled all versions of these sweets in chopped nuts ... the world's your oyster

– play with ideas and use flavours you enjoy)

Note: You don't use as much essence as you would lemon juice (!) so this recipe

will require extra honey

RAW RUM TRUFFLES

Minced Dates

Ground Almonds

Sesame Seeds

Neat Rum (naughty!)

Plain Runny Honey (no strong flavours or it will interfere with the flavour)

Natural Raw Cacao Powder

Mix all the ingredients together, roll into bite sized or larger balls and roll

in cacao powder

Note: You can go heavy on the rum, but keep tasting as you go (naturally!)

& #8195;

OTHER SWEET SUGGESTIONS

Cinnamon works with honey, so you could make a version with those ingredients

mixed together

Try making the sweets with chopped nuts in the actual ball, rather than as a

coating

& #8195;

SUNFLOWER PATE (another healthy Thai snack – I really like these, but don't know

if they'll be to your taste – but it's simple to make and worth a try?)

Shallots

Sunflower Seeds

Cucumber

Salt

Soak sunflower seeds overnight

Crush in pestle and mortar

Add salt to taste

Peel and slice a cucumber (I don't bother peeling, I enjoy the skin)

Add spoonful of pate to each slice of cucumber and pat down a little