Samoa Bars

I made these bars over the weekend and they were a hit with my friends!  If you are a coconut fan, you will LOVE these rich, dense, date-sweetened, creamy, gooey, coconut-filled bars!  The only added sugar comes from the thin layer of chocolate on top, so you can feel good about eating these treats that have lots of healthy fat and fiber.  I just wouldn't go eating the whole pan... make these to share with your friends so they're not sitting around your house tempting you, because I guarantee they will be calling out your name from the fridge!

I found the original recipe on the fantastic food blog Eat Good 4 Life.  Check it out!  

No Bake Samoa Bars

Slightly adapted from Eat Good 4 Life

Crust
1/2 c dry roasted macadamia nuts
1 1/2 c almond meal
1 c unsweetened, shredded coconut
4 dates
1 T coconut oil (add more if the "dough" seems too dry)

Filling
12 medjool dates (about 1 1/2 cups), soaked in hot water
1/3 c full fat canned coconut milk
1/8 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 c unsweetened, shredded coconut

Topping
1 c enjoy life chocolate chips

1. Heat up about 1 1/2 cups of water in the microwave.  Remove the pits from the 12 dates for the filling and submerge them in the water, letting them soak while you make the crust.
2. In the food processor, process the crust ingredients until well combined.  Add more coconut oil if it doesn't seem to be coming together.  Press firmly into the bottom of an 8x8 in. pan.  Put the pan in the freezer while you make the filling.
3. No need to clean out the food processor here (just scrape the crust out with a spatula the best you can!).  Put the soaked dates in the food processor and process until they form a paste.  Then add in the coconut milk and process until smooth.  Next, add the salt and coconut and process briefly til everything is incorporated together.
4. Take your pan out of the freezer and spread the filling over the crust, creating a smooth layer.  Put the pan back in the freezer for about 15 minutes.
5. After 15 minutes, melt your chocolate chips in the microwave (I melt them on 50% power for 1 min, followed by 30 sec intervals, stirring each time I take them out until they are melted).  Spread the chocolate layer on top of the filling.  
6. Refrigerate the bars for several hours, then use a very sharp knife to cut them into pieces!  I cut mine into 32 small bars, which worked perfectly because these are very rich!  Store in the refrigerator.
 

Almond Joy Balls

The last week of school there are always tons of potlucks and gatherings featuring a boatload of some healthy and some very unhealthy food.  Well, one of the parties featured Whit's frozen custard, which, if you have never tried it, is AMAZING.  Not a part of my normal diet, but I do enjoy the occasional ice cream treat from time to time, and I sure as heck enjoyed it at that party.  These balls are an ode to the flavors in Whit's Almond Joy frozen custard.  They are EXACTLY what I was going for when I set out to recreate all of the flavors in that ice cream.  No, they do not taste like ice cream, but they do taste like delicious chocolatey, almondy, coconutty heaven.  

Almond Joy Balls

10 soft medjool dates, pitted

2 scoops (28 g) chocolate protein powder (I used organic, grassfed dark chocolate Tera's whey)

1 c almonds

1/2 c unsweetened, shredded coconut

1-2 T unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp coconut extract

Process all ingredients in food processor until ingredients all stick together enough for you to roll it into balls.  You can vary the texture (smooth to chunky) by processing it for a shorter or longer time.  The balls will be fairly sticky when you roll them.  Put them in a freezer safe container and freeze them to store.  They will still be a little gooey straight from the freezer... yum!

TIP: I only buy this Whey when it is on Manager's Special at Kroger, or a stupid good deal at Vitacost.com.  At full price it is super expensive.