DATE, SEED & NUT BLISS BALLS

I love bliss balls as a snack, as an after dinner treat or as a middle of the day indulgence with a cup of herbal tea. I like to use fresh Medjool dates, as they are lower in sugar and calories to dried. I only try to use 1 fruit in my bliss balls to minimise the sugar levels. I also like to use a relatively small amount of seeds and nuts, and instead let the other ingredients shine; in the case of the recipe below, cacao and tahini (sesame seed paste). I have no doubt that everyone of you can throw whatever you have on hand into your food processor and make amazing tasting bliss balls; I'm just urging you to think of the percentage of sugar in each individual bite. If you love lots and lots of ingredients in your bliss balls, make smaller balls so that you do not consume as much sugar and as many calories. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups raw Medjool dates (300g), pitted & roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup raw, unsalted cashew nuts 
• 1/2 cup almonds
• 2 tablespoons chia seeds
• 2 tablespoons raw cacao 
• 1/2 cup unsweetened desiccated coconut 
• 1 tablespoons tahini (sesame paste) or if you do not have substitute for 1 extra tablespoon maple syrup 
• 1 tablespoon organic maple syrup 

Method 

1. Place the chopped raw dates in a food processor and process until smooth. You may need to add a few little splashes of water to stop the dates concealing into one big ball. 

2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the processor and process until well combined. Add ¼ cup water, a tablespoon at a time, if the mixture is too dry.

3. Mould the mixture into approximately 25 even sized balls.

Place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour before eating. 

Makes / 25

Total Preparation time / 20-25 minutes 

x Emily 

STEAMED CHICKEN SALAD with SESAME SAUCE

I have been fighting dizzy spells and pounding headaches all weekend, however funnily enough I found myself irrationally hungry, even 10 minutes after just finishing a meal! And for some unexplained reason, when I am feeling under the weather I crave Japanese food. Udon, ramen, soba and rice noodles beckon to me. I desire ginger and chilli and all other food disgusts me. So I was consuming a lot of noodles, grated ginger, sesame seeds and rice on the weekend. One such dish; Steamed Chicken Salad with Sesame Sauce made the blog cut. A simple and quick recipe to prepare, which involves cooking chicken in the microwave (I was skeptical too at first) results in less cleaning up and more time to enjoy the freshness of the ginger, spring onions and sesame seeds. Believe it or not, this dish made me feel much better! A unique take on salad by the Japanese. Recipe from ‘Japanese’ cookbook by Australian Women’s Weekly. 

INGREDIENTS

Salad

• 2 medium lebanese cucumbers (250g), halved lengthways & cut into chunks
• 2 spring onions (50g), finely chopped and white & green pieces separated
• 250-300g chicken breast fillets, cut into even sized pieces (around 5cm) 
• 1 tablespoon mirin seasoning 
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 2cm (1 inch) fresh ginger, finely grated 

Sesame sauce 

• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli paste
• 2cm (1 inch) fresh ginger, finely grated 
• 1 large garlic clove, crushed 
• 1 tablespoon gluten-free soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted & roughly ground in a mortar & pestle into a paste
• 1 heaped teaspoon sesame seeds

COOKING 

1. Place chicken pieces in a medium heatproof bowl and toss well with mirin and sesame oil. Scatter ginger and white part of the spring onion over the chicken and cook, covered, in the microwave for 4 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove, cool for 5 minutes and reserve the cooking liquid. 

2. Whilst chicken is cooling, make the sesame sauce by combining all the sauce ingredients and 2 tablespoons of the reserved chicken cooking liquid and whisking together. 

3. Shred cooled chicken with your hands. Halve the chicken and cucumber pieces and place in two medium bowls. Drizzle with green part of the spring onion and sauce and serve. 

Serves / 2 

Total Preparation time / 12 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 12 minutes 

x Emily 

SESAME CHICKEN STRIPS

For some unknown reason I have (or had after this recipe) a large quantity of sesame seeds in my pantry. I cannot for the life of me remember how they all got there. It was close to 2 cups, an unusually sizeable amount of this ingredient. Last night, after viewing the interesting stripper movie Magic Mike, I decided to get rid of all of my sesame seeds. And what goes well with sesame seeds, you may ask? My mind immediately went to chicken. Luckily I had 600g of chicken in the freezer and was able to pull together some ‘chicken strips’ before my sister came over for dinner. Using one egg to stick the seeds is a great alternative to loads of unhealthy oil. Serve with Asian vegetables or on a bed of rice.

INGREDIENTS

• 600g chicken breast fillets, cut into even sized strips
• 1 egg, beaten 
• 1 1/2 cups sesame seeds
• coconut oil 

Sauce 

• 1/4 cup gluten-free plum sauce
• 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

COOKING 

1. Preheat a fan-force oven to 200 degrees celsius. Line a large baking tray with baking paper. 

Arrange a plate covered with sesame seeds and place a small bowl with the egg next to it. Dip each chicken strip in the egg, then cover well with the sesame seeds. Continue until all chicken is covered. 

2. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat and add 1 tablespoon coconut oil. Place as many chicken strips as you can in the pan. Cook on each side for 5 minutes or until sesame seeds are slightly golden. Remove from the pan and place on the baking tray. Add more oil and cook the rest of the chicken strips. Place chicken on the baking tray and cook in the oven for 10-12 minutes or until chicken is cooked and no pink is visible. 

4. Make sauce by combing the plum sauce and vinegar in a small bowl. Serve the chicken warm with the plum sauce drizzled on top or on the side. 

Serves / 4 

Total Preparation time / 15 minutes 

Total Cooking time / 30-35 minutes 

x E