orange cacao goji balls

Between reading about food, writing about food and talking about food, over the past few months I’ve found myself having lost passion for taking the time and patience to prepare food. The passion I once had for searching through friends blogs, cookbooks or creating my own recipes disappeared. I am fortunate enough to live in a city that allows me access to quick and healthy take-out but after weeks of receipts from my local vegetarian hotspots piled up on my desk I realized this was not how I wanted to live.

This was not me practising what I preach. Of course, of course life gets busy but I cringe when I hear that phrase. Life cannot be so busy that we forget one of the core needs that keep us running…food! And not just food as substance, but food as pleasure and as something that brings us enjoyment.

Over the weekend I found myself wandering down the street, enjoying a crispy Fall day and itching to get back into the kitchen and craft up something delicious. And that my friends, is what I did.

Orange Cacao Goji Balls

Ingredients
10 Medjool dates
1/4 cup goji berries
1 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup almonds
1 tsp raw honey, maple syrup or coconut nectar
1 tsp raw cacao powder
pinch of sea salt
zest from one orange

Directions
1. Pit Medjool dates and cut in half. Place in small bowl and fill with warm water to top.  In a separate bowl, add goji berries and fill with warm water to top. Let dates and goji berries soak for 5 minutes to soften them.
2. In a food processor, add hazelnuts and almonds. Process to a fine but slightly chunky consistency (you do not want to extract too much oil from them)
3. Drain dates and goji berries and add to food processor with nuts. Add your sweetener of choice, raw cacao powder, sea salt and orange zest. Process until well combined.
4. Roll into balls, top with a goji berry and refridgerate until ready to serve.