Soyabella

These Coconut and Almond Truffles are the perfect way to indulge in some festive cheer without overloading on sugar. Quick and easy to prepare they will provide you with a sweet fix with the addition of a nutritional kick.

These Vegan Coconut and Almond Truffles are the perfect way to indulge in some festive cheer without overloading on sugar. Quick and easy to prepare they will provide you with a sweet fix with the addition of a nutritional kick. The recipe was created by Amanda Hamilton, a TV Nutritionist working in connection with digestive health brand Udo’s Choice.

Ingredients:

80g dates
60g almonds ground or 60g of almond pulp from a Soyabella machine
30g desiccated coconut
15g cocoa powder
2tbsp maple syrup
1/2tsp vanilla essence

Method:

In a food processor blend together the dates, almonds (or leftover almond pulp) until they form a crumbly paste. If it’s too thick, add a little water, but only enough for it to just come together. Depending on personal taste, the truffle mixture doesn’t need to be totally smooth; some nutty pieces and chunks can be a good thing.

Add the cocoa powder and blend until mostly incorporated.

Remove the nut mixture from your food processor and place it in a large bowl. Stir in half of the shredded coconut, maple syrup, vanilla extract and mix until smooth.

If the truffle mixture is too sticky at this point, place it in the freezer for about 30 minutes so it firms up slightly. Measure the truffle mixture out as about 1 heaped tablespoon each.

Roll it into balls by rolling the mixture between your palms then roll the truffles in the remaining shredded coconut.

Truffles are at their best when cold so for the best results place the truffles in the freezer and allow to them harden for at least 1 hour. Store the remaining truffles in the freezer removing only what you are planning to eat now and allow them to soften at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving.

If this recipe takes your fancy you should definitely pop over to Udo’s Choice website and check they extended selection of nutritional healthy recipes.

If you are on a dairy free diet then you are most likely familiar with the joy that is almond milk, but if you are not… well in that case let me introduce you to almond milk…

Almond milk is a healthy alternative to cow milk. It has much lower calories count and it is also low in carbs which makes it very diet friendly; it has no cholesterol or saturated fats, so it is heart friendly; it contains antioxidant properties which means it is skin friendly; additionally almond milk contains a far greater level of vitamins compared to cow milk. So to sum it up – almond milk is good for you, it taste great and it doesn’t need refrigerating… and you can make it at home 🙂

To make almond milk at home you will need the following ingredients:

A handful of almonds
Water

First you need to finely grind the almonds and then blend with water in your blender, then when done you need to filter the pulp by using a strainer, so you can separate all of it from the liquid – easy but messy and time consuming.

So it there another way you may ask?

Oh yes, yes there is!

There is Soyabella!

Soyabella is a multifunctional milk maker. You can create some fresh and super tasty almond milk within a couple of minutes and with almost no mess. All you need is a handful of pre-soaked almonds (you can use them without pre-soaking but for best result soaking for a minimum of 4 hours is advised)… you pop them into the grinder compartment of the Soyabella, fill the carafe with water and grind… 3 – 5 10 second pulses later and you can enjoy a wonderful fresh almond milk. It is that easy!

As Soyabella is multifunctional it can also make soya milk, soups, paste, porridge plus all other types of milk from different nuts. It is very easy to clean and full proof to operate, once you have read the manual for the first time 😉

I am still going to try it for soya milk. I’ve ordered myself some nice organic soya beans but there seems to be some sort of delay with my order (the joy of long distance shopping, hey).

I use my home made almond milk as a base for my morning protein diet shake. Almond milk doesn’t provide much proteins so it is the perfect substitution for water; paired with its low carb properties, low calories and low GI index is makes an ideal protein shake companion and believe me it taste 100 times better than with water 🙂