By Landria Voigt
I love this time of year! What a great time to celebrate with family and friends. And, yes, often these celebrations include yummy treats like candy canes, sugar cookies, hot chocolate, gingerbread men, and pumpkin pie. While it can be hard to do, I still try to maintain a little bit of a healthy balance with my family. Of course, sugar is super tasty and makes us feel good when we are eating it, but soon after look out for a loss of energy, grumpy moods and a lowered immune system. Not to mention, for us adults, too much sugar can trigger inflammation and stress to our bodies in an already stressful time of year. Who has time to be sick and worn down during the holidays? We’d miss out on too much fun!!
So, I like to balance our days with some healthier yet still super fun and tasty snacks. If we fill up with some good stuff, chances are good there isn’t as much room for the less healthy stuff. One of our favorites snacks are Coconut Almond Bon Bons (see below). They are gluten free, low glycemic (so they won’t have blood sugar swings ie high energy followed by an inevitable energy crash) fiber and protein. And they’re fun to make with the kids!
You can find these recipes and more in the new Super Paleo Snacks available for pre-order now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Indie Bound, Indigo, or Bookish, available just in time for the perfect holiday gift! You can also visit my site at stiritup.me for some healthy, kid-friendly meals. Happy Holidays!
Coconut Almond Bon Bons
I know dates are great for their binding abilities but I just don’t love baking with them. Personally I think they are just too sweet and too messy to use (clean up is a pain as is). But without the use of dates, these Bon Bons have the perfect touch of sweetness (made from all low glycemic sweeteners), and a wholesome healthy fat to hold these tasty ingredients together, these bon bons make the perfect snack that will help keep blood sugars in check all day.
- 1 cup raw almonds
- 2/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, ⅓ cup for topping
- 1/2 cup almond butter (or peanut butter if no allergies and kids prefer)
- 1/2 cup ground flax meal
- ½ cup coconut nectar (or honey or maple)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp salt, if almond butter is unsalted
- ⅓ cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
- 3 tbsp coconut palm sugar
Add almonds, almond butter, ⅔ cup coconut, coconut nectar, vanilla and salt in a food processor. Process well until ball forms and everything is blended fairly well. Roll into small balls and place on tray or plate. Then take each ball and roll it in your remaining coconut flakes. Store in the refrigerator.