Macadamia Bliss Balls and Real Food Festival 2013

On the Sunshine Coast we love our food and our local food producers, and we do love a festival!

The Real Food Festival is a definite highlight on the calender and 2 days of incredible food and presentations.

Sponsored by Nutworks I was delighted to present LOCAL FOOD BLISS and made a selection of delicious Bliss Balls featuring gorgeous local Sunshine Coast products

This image was taken by the very lovely

Chocolate Delight Bliss Balls

2 page feature in the Hinterland Times

About to go on stage pictured here with my Fab Slabs chopping boards,

 Naughty Naturopath Mum

In the audience it was so exciting to have the talented foodie talents of Cooker and a Looker and Naughty Naturopath Mum, two very talented women I admire very much and to see the kids in the front row enjoying the choccy nutty goodness of the bliss balls.
You can read the feature on my cooking presentation at the festival in the Hinterland Times HERE, "Back to basic's - that's all it takes!"As the lovely journalist and author Dale was there during my live cooking demonstration.

As you can see my oldest LOVES nutworks products very much

This is the macadamia paste I talk about and use all the time

So what did I make in Local Food Bliss??
Well bliss balls naturally! Bliss balls mad with gorgeous NUTWORKS products

Macadamia Bliss Balls

CHOC macadamia bliss balls
Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup Nutworks macadamia paste
• 1 cup Nutworks macadamia meal (like almond meal but with gorgeous macadamias) see notes
• 1 cup desiccated coconut
• 1/4 chopped Australian prunes
• 1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/4 cup raw or to taste, organic honey - I used a local one that I got from Nambour's Health Beat
• 2 tablespoons organic cacao (can use cocoa - if I use ordinary cocoa I tend to use Planet Organic brand)
• 8 drops liquid chocolate stevia OPTIONAL ( I use the drops by sweet leaf)
• 1 teaspoon organic vanilla paste
• 1/2 cup dessicated coconut extra
• 1/2 cup sesame seeds

Method

• Mash the banana until nice and smooth consistency
• In a large bowl combine the banana and macadamia paste, honey, vanilla and drops if using. Mix together well.
• Now add in the coconut, macadamia meal and dried fruit, combine it all together really well.
• Using your hands, (yes I am a really hands on, old fashioned feel and experience the food type of cook ;) make sure it is all well combined and then take small amounts and roll between your hands into balls. If it feels too moist/runny add a little extra nut meal and coconut, it should be sticky but not too runny/gooey. If it is too dry, add some more mac paste or mashed banana.
• Fill two bowls with the extra coconut and sesame seeds.
• Dip your balls as you make them into either coconut or sesame seeds and place in an air tight container, continue until all the mixture is gone.
• Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Serve.
• Keep in the fridge - see notes for variations.

Blonde Bliss Balls

Toddler/Kindy/Prep Tips

• These are fantastic for toddlers - I make mine some small ones and they are a great go to snack that tastes sweet.
• For NUT FREE schools/kindy's in place of nut butter use a sunflower seed paste. You can make your own by roasting sunflower seeds and then blitzing in a food processor or thermomix or look out for one in your health food store and supermarkets, esp a roasted one as they have much better flavour and swap the nut meal for a *very small* amount of coconut flour, like 1/2 a tablespoon. Coconut flour absorbs 20 times it's weight in moisture so a little goes a long way!

Notes

• To make the blonde bliss pictured above - simply omit the cacao and choc stevia drops and add some vanilla.
• The mix may need a slight tweak depending on how big your bananas are.
• Add some MACA powder. Maca root powder is an amazing superfood high in Iodine and even said to help regulate hormones which is said to help with fertility, menstrual cycle and even sex drive in adults and many other health benefits. safely consumed by adults and children alike and livestock in many places, readily available from health food shops.
• Add some organic protein powder like Nuraorganics thriving vanilla if you want to.
• Dip in runny coconut chocolate and allow to set so your bliss balls are choccy covered goodness!
• Try variations like blonde vanilla and goji berry, choc fruit and nut (add some nice crushed nuts), apricot and walnut, pistachio vanilla with goji berries. Have fun with it!

Bek xx