Bliss balls would have to be one of the most popular snacks popping up on recipe and whole food sites at the moment. They are delicious, and yes they are easy to make, but how healthy are they really?

The big anti-sugar movement that is going on right now is shunning anything that is made from refined or common table sugar. Whilst I completely agree with this concept, I still think we need to be wary of what is being used as a refined sugar replacement.

Just because a product or recipe claims to be free from refined sugar, doesn’t mean that it is healthy or even low in sugar.

I think we are a little disillusioned to with the nutrition content of the  sugar replacements that we are using. The main culprit here is medjool dates. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love medjool dates and I often use them in cooking. Just don’t fall into the trap of thinking you are eating a ‘sugar free’ treat when medjool dates (or other dried fruits) are a major ingredient.

In one medjool date (24gm), there is 16gm of sugar – this is nearly 3 teaspoons worth of sugar!

Yes, they do contain some soluble fibre that nourishes the digestive system, and they do contain a good array of minerals and vitamins. All of these are usually processed out of table sugar. More of this in a later post.

But let’s get back to the recipe…

These balls have no dried fruit in them and are sweetened with just a little bit of raw honey. One of the star ingredients is the creamed coconut (or coconut butter).

Creamed coconut is the flesh of the coconut so it is really hard and adds firmness to a recipe. It tastes delicious, almost caramel like, yet it is very low in sugar (5.7gm per 100gm).

All you need for this recipe is a food processor to whizz everything together and then your hands to shape the balls.