Have you ever dreamt of a smooth, decadent truffle that melts in your mouth, has the perfect amount of sweetness, makes your taste buds incredibly happy, and isn’t loaded with sugar and butter? You know, the guilt free kinds of truffles where if you eat five of them, you won’t feel like you need to run half a marathon in order to burn off all of the calories. Perhaps you’re thinking that it’s an impossible thing to have, almost as impossible as dinosaurs coming back from extinction or aliens taking over the world.
Think again! Guys, I’ve discovered the secret to a perfectly sugar and sweetener free (no honey, agave, or syrup!), fiber and protein filled chocolate truffle that isn’t only ‘guilt free’, but might actually be considered good for you. What are the secret ingredients you ask? Well, if you’ve been on this blog at all, you’ll probably be able to guess that they’re black beans and dates! And the best part about it all is that you can’t even taste the black beans or dates. Sprinkle some shredded coconut on top of the melted dark chocolate and you’ve got yourself one healthy dessert. This recipe was adapted from my Raspberry Chocolate Black Bean Truffle and Ambitious Kitchen’s black bean protein truffles.
Ingredients:
- 1 1/4 cup cooked black beans or 1 15 oz. can of black beans
- 2/3 cups Medjool dates
- 6-7 Tbsp of good quality cocoa powder (I personally love Divine Organics Cacao Powder)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp coconut oil
- 3-4 Tbsp olive oil
- About 3 cups of dark chocolate chips
- Unsweetened shredded coconut flakes
Instructions:
- Place the Medjool dates into the food processor and process until it can’t be further chopped (spinning around in a ball).
- Add the black beans and coconut oil. Process until it is smooth.
- Add the cocoa powder and process until it’s smooth and evenly mixed in. Place the mixture in the fridge for about 10-20 minutes (until the mixture is firm enough to be rolled into a ball)
- Add chocolate chips and olive oil in a bowl and melt (microwave in 20-30 second increments, take out and stir, place back in and microwave- repeat the process until the chocolate is completely melted)
- Place wax paper or parchment paper on a large plate. Wash your hands or put on some gloves, take a small chunk of the black bean chocolate mixture, roll it into a ball, put it on a toothpick. Place the ball over the bowl of chocolate, spoon the melted chocolate over the black bean ball until it is completely covered. Place it onto the plate and remove the toothpick. Repeat this process until all of the mixture has been rolled and covered in chocolate.
- Sprinkle shredded coconut flakes over the truffles and then refrigerate until the truffles are firm.
And then, voila! You have yourself one healthy chocolate-y dessert! Magically delicious and it’s way better for you than any traditional chocolate truffle. My mom has already eaten 5 of these. Remember, though, everything in moderation! Just because these are healthy, it doesn’t mean you should eat a ton of them in one sitting. The key to a healthy life is balance. You don’t have to cut anything out completely and don’t eat too much of anything (unless it’s vegetables, you can never have too many veggies…I think).
I’m still playing around with food photography. I still have a lot to work on, but hopefully the photos will continue to get better. I’m thinking that I might need some new table cloths to make the backgrounds of these photos more interesting. What do you think?
I didn’t get home until 8 tonight, so I’m off to try making some PB and Strawberry Jelly chia seed pudding. Hopefully I’ll have the recipe up for you guys sometime tomorrow night before I head off on my road trip. There’ll be a travel section up on my blog soon (healthy and active travel section). The camping cookware has arrived in the mail. I’m so excited!
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