Easy Banana Date Bliss Balls

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Taking 17 college credits, 3 part time jobs, friends, a boyfriend and 3 meals to cook every day, this celiac is all about quick snacks to satisfy my afternoon cravings. Since my celiac diagnosis, finding a cheap, delicious energy bar hasn’t been easy. That’s where my homemade bliss balls come in!

Chewy dates, gooey bananas, and crunchy nuts and seeds combine to form a healthy snack to power through the day. And when extras like cacao powder, chocolate chips, and nut butter are thrown in, every degree of sweet tooth can join the party.  Feel free to experiment with your flavors and don’t be afraid of adding in some unusual ingredients. I recently discovered that spirulina powder is delicious when mixed into the base recipe while pureed strawberries creates a perfectly tart, pink treat!

Further Food Nutritionist Commentary:

This recipe is customizable to one's food preferences, yet the dates serve a myriad of purposes. Not only are they a great sugar alternative, but they can help alleviate constipation, heart problems, anemia, diarrhea and intestinal disorders. In addition, using bananas adds natural sweetness to the energy balls and a serving of peanut butter provides "good fats," the monounsaturated fats, vitamin E, a powerful antioxidant, potassium and vitamin B6, which all contribute to decreased risk of heart disease and diabetes.

By Nikki Nies, MS, Nutritionist
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Easy Banana Date Bliss Balls

  • Prep Time: 20 minutes
  • Cook Time: 20-30 minutes
  • Servings: 16

Ingredients

10-12 Medjool dates
1/2 very ripe banana (mashed)
2 tablespoons coconut or flour of your choice
1 tablespoon nut butter (I prefer sun butter but anything will work!)

Optional: dried or fresh fruit, powders like cacao or maca, chocolate chips, seeds, nuts, extracts like mint or vanilla, stevia, puffed rice or cereal, spices like cinnamon or pumpkin, etc.

Instructions

1. Begin by soaking the dates in water for as little as 20 minutes or overnight. This step can be skipped if your dates are especially fresh or soft.
2. After the dates are squishy to the touch, take out the pits (if necessary) and place them in a Nutribullet or blender. Blend for a few seconds, or until the date have been pureed into a sticky paste.
3. After moving the date paste to a bowl, add your banana, flour, and nut butter. If your banana isn’t extremely ripe, you can microwave it for a few seconds. The ratio of dates, bananas, flour and nut butter isn’t an exact science, so feel free to add more or less of the ingredients until the batter is sticky and moist, but not overly wet.
4. Now my favorite part – the decorating! I love separating the batter into several bowls so I can make different flavored bliss balls in one batch. Some of my favorite combinations are acai powder with blueberries, sunflower seeds and vanilla, and cacao powder with mint extract, pomegranate seeds, hemp seeds and puffed rice.
5. To make your bliss balls even fancier, try rolling them in extra toppings after molding them into a sphere with your hands.

6. Then, pop them in a freezer-safe container. After they’ve set (around 20 minutes), you can either keep in the freezer or in the fridge for a chilled treat that stays good for weeks! Enjoy!

1. Begin by soaking the dates in water for as little as 20 minutes or overnight. This step can be skipped if your dates are especially fresh or soft. 2. After the dates are squishy to the touch, take out the pits (if necessary) and place them in a Nutribullet or blender. Blend for a few seconds, or until the date have been pureed into a sticky paste. 3. After moving the date paste to a bowl, add your banana, flour, and nut butter. If your banana isn’t extremely ripe, you can microwave it for a few seconds. The ratio of dates, bananas, flour and nut butter isn’t an exact science, so feel free to add more or less of the ingredients until the batter is sticky and moist, but not overly wet. 4. Now my favorite part – the decorating! I love separating the batter into several bowls so I can make different flavored bliss balls in one batch. Some of my favorite combinations are acai powder with blueberries, sunflower seeds and vanilla, and cacao powder with mint extract, pomegranate seeds, hemp seeds and puffed rice. 5. To make your bliss balls even fancier, try rolling them in extra toppings after molding them into a sphere with your hands. 6. Then, pop them in a freezer-safe container. After they’ve set (around 20 minutes), you can either keep in the freezer or in the fridge for a chilled treat that stays good for weeks! Enjoy!

Nutrition Information

Per Serving:  Calories: 55; Total Fat: 1g; Saturated Fat: 0g; Monounsaturated Fat: 0g; Polyunsaturated Fat: 0g; Cholesterol: 0mg; Sodium: 4mg; Potassium: 126mg; Carbohydrate: 13g; Fiber: 2g; Sugar: 11g; Protein: 1g

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8 thoughts on “Easy Banana Date Bliss Balls”

  2. Emilie

    Hey Casey,
    I’m thinking about making these and adding some spices… anything you might recommend? My thoughts are ground cardamom and maybe some rose petal?!

    Reply ↓
  3. Lillian Zhao

    Love these. I wanted to decrease the sugar amount so I reduced the dates to 7 and increased the nut butter to 2 tablespoons. YUM!

    Reply ↓
  4. Renee

    I absolutely loved these bliss balls. They were SO SIMPLE to make, and both my husband and kids couldn’t get enough. I decided to add chocolate chips, because I love the combination of banana and chocolate, and they were just delicious. Great for a snack or dessert, and I love that they are flavored with only natural sugar sources! Give these a try, you won’t be disappointed.

    Reply ↓
    1. Casey

      I’m so glad you liked them Renee! And chocolate chips? I’ll always support the banana/chocolate partners in crime! 🙂

      Reply ↓

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