C IS FOR BEAUTY
/Here is my response to requests for low carb bliss balls. These little no-bake beauties will help to keep you beautiful inside and out thanks to the anti-aging benefits of cashews, coconut, chia and collagen! They contain no grains, processed sugar, dates or other dried fruit and are great when you want a quick & tasty snack packed with healthy fats & protein.
I grew-up in the era when fat, especially saturated fat, was demonized. We loaded our bodies with low fat products, many of which were chock-full of refined sugar and artificial sweeteners. And our society became increasingly overweight and unhealthy.
As an MD and lover of all things health and wellness, I am thrilled that we now have a large study in a well-known medical journal that can help dispel some of the low-fat myths I was raised on.
The PURE study is a prospective cohort study of over 135,000 people aged 35 to 70 from 18 countries and different socioeconomic backgrounds. I would encourage anyone interested to learn more about the Lancet publications. But the bottom line? Reducing saturated fat and replacing it with carbs made blood cholesterol levels worse, not better. More importantly, a high carbohydrate diet was associated with a higher risk of total mortality while fat was associated with a lower risk! But we gotta know what we mean by carbs. In one branch of the study, higher fruit and vegetable consumption was also shown to reduce mortality. The problematic carbs seem to be those processed and refined ones we were previously tricked into believing were better for us than avocado and coconut oil. Don't get me wrong -- I'm not recommending an elimination diet here. But I do know that, more often than not, I'll be happy to nosh on these delicious and satisfying Beauty balls and skip the refined carbs of my younger years!
Ingredients for 18 to 20 balls:
3/4 cup cashew nut butter
1/2 cup coconut flour
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
2 scoops collagen peptides
2 Tbsp chia seeds
1 Tbsp coconut oil
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp sea salt
optional sweetener (suggest 2 Tbsp raw honey or stevia to taste)
1/4 cup raw cacao nibs (optional)
Directions:
Place all ingredients except cacao nibs into a food processor or blender container.
Pulse a few times, scape down the sides and bottom with a spatula, then blend until well combined.
Add cacao nibs (if using) and pulse several times to mix but maintain texture.
Scrape sticky mixture onto a plate or parchment paper and roll into balls.
Enjoy as-is, refrigerate until firm, or freeze for a quick snack later. These Beauty balls will keep in an airtight container for a week in the fridge or a couple months in the freezer.