Rachel's Powerballs - A Healthful Raw Food Vegan Dessert Or Lunchbox Snack

Use large, unsweetened coconut ribbons or flakes, not shredded

Process dates, cashews and coconut until mixture sticks together

Rachel's company Jonny Sport makes high-quality vegan bags

About This Recipe

While dinning at a Portland restaurant, (See my Review of Portland's Blossoming Lotus), I met a very lovely woman named Rachel Elizabeth who was sitting at the next table. Since I wanted to take as many pictures of their dishes as possible without ordering everything on the menu, I asked Rachel if I could photograph her food also. We ended up having a very nice visit during our lunch. We shared raw food and other vegan recipes and talked about my blog and her company. She runs a local business in Portland that makes very high quality vegan bags. The name of her company is Jonny Sport and everything they make is manufactured in Portland. It is refreshing to see someone creating local jobs while providing an alternative high end bag for people who avoid using any animal products.

Long story short, this is one of the recipes that Rachel shared with me. It's a little dessert ball made from raw cashews, Medjool dates and dried flakes of coconut. What gives them a burst of flavor is a sprinkling of course salt on top of each ball. Rachel calls them "Powerballs". They make a great dessert or mid-day snack for the whole family. They are delicious and so easy to make.

Thank you Rachel for this wonderful recipe!

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Raw Vegan Powerballs

[makes 2 dozen]

1 cup Medjool dates, pitted and quartered (about 15)

1 cup raw cashew nuts

1 cup dried, unsweetened coconut ribbons or flakes

1/2 teaspoon brown rice syrup or agave nectar

Some course salt for topping

Place dates in a food processor with an S blade. Process dates briefly until they are chopped. Add cashews, coconut flakes and brown rice syrup or agave nectar. Process until the mixture sticks together. Roll the mixture into 24 balls. Put some course salt in a bowl and push the top of each ball into the salt until a little sticks on top (you don't need much). The salt really brings out the flavor so don't omit it. Refrigerate the balls for several hours before serving.

Per serving: 84.2 calories, 3.7 g fat, 1.8 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 1 g protein, 13.5 g carbohydrates and 1.8 g of fiber.