If you’re an SNL fan, you probably can’t talk about one of our cleanser’s all-time favorite bite-size snacks without busting up laughing.
To get the inside joke, be sure to check out SNL’s Sweddy Balls skit, here.
Our beloved Joy Balls (recipe in our book, page 260) have been known not only as a life-saving snack during the cleanse, but also a source of ongoing office humor, banter, and silly text messages between cleansers.
Is it us or do the words “nut balls” just make you smile? Our ball obsession has led us to make several incarnations of the original Joy Balls.
Protein-Packed Almond Butter Balls (in our book page 261)
Nut Free Joy Balls (get the recipe here)
And new today…Amazeballs!
One of our good friends asked us to make a nut ball recipe by this name and we jumped at the opportunity.
An 80:20 recipe because of the cacao, we hope you enjoy them and leave us a comment below! Are you giddy for nut balls? Let’s share some laughs below.
Keep on smiling,
Amazeballs
Yield: 12 balls
Ingredients:
- 2 cups walnuts (you can substitute almonds or cashews)
- 1 cup dates, pitted
- ¼ tsp. sea salt
- ¼ tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ tsp. cardamom
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 2 TB cacao powder
- 2- 3 TB tahini
- Black and white sesame seeds to coat
Instructions:
In a food processor fitted with an S-blade combine walnuts, dates, sea salt, cinnamon, cardamom, vanilla, cacao, and tahini. Process until mixture is fine and comes together into a ball when you squeeze it in your hand. Roll 2 tablespoons of the mixture into a ball. On a small plate combine black and white sesame seeds. Roll each ball into the seeds to coat. Store in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or the freezer for 2 weeks.
I live somewhere we I don’t have access to a food processor (Rwanda) but I do have a pretty decent blender. I have been doing your cleanse (I’m on day 9!) from the book and cobbled together the joy balls by putting all ingredients in the blender save the dates and then rolling the rest around the dates the center. But I’m not sure that was the best. Do you have any recommendations for these delicious ball recipes for someone without access to a food processor? Is there a way to do part “by hand”?
Hi Kim, We are so glad you reached out to us all the way from Rwanda! You’re on the right path and good thinking not putting the dates in the blender. We’ve heard of many mishaps with dates and blenders. Try cutting the dates up with a knife. They will be more chunky but will disperse through the mixture better. Then you can roll them into balls. They may look a little different but the flavor is definitely there. Happy Day 9!! XO, Jo & Jules
Hi Kim, Wonder if you could chop the dates pretty fine with a chef’s knife and then use a mortar and pestle to mash well?
Hi Ladies, these are some amazing balls! ; ) Very delicious. Mine didn’t hold together as well as I would have liked. Maybe go heavier on the dates to fix that? Thanks for the new recipe, this will be a regular for me now. : )
Hi Lisa, We’re so glad you love them! If you notice they are crumbling more then adding extra dates will bind them more. Sometimes the length of time they are blended in a food processor, the temperature of the dates, or how dry the dates are can effect the end results. XO, Jo & Jules
Day 13 of the Gaia 14 day clean eating challenge with daily yoga!!! I am so grateful for this program on Gaia. I just made these and the taste is AMAZING!! I LOVE cardamom! I made these for a healthy snack while on a road trip tomorrow. I had some medjol and deglet dates, so i combined them for the dates and used 2 tbl of the tahini and not dry at all. Thank you both so much for all your great recipes and for all the wonderful information you share!! Namaste :-)
Hi Terri, We’re so glad you’re having such a great experience and love our Amazeballs. Thank you for your kind words! XO, J&J