You may have seen in a few recipe posts, that I’ve been working towards eating a more raw vegan diet lately. It’s a work in progress and I succeed about 85% of the time I’d say 🙂 I definitely try to minimize animal products and keep the rest of my diet consisting of whole foods including lots of fruits and vegetables. It’s not always easy to have healthy fresh fruits and veggies on hand every day, so I’ve been super grateful for my food storage foods (which I always keep upstairs for everyday use anyway) while I’ve been adjusting to this new way of eating. Sometimes I miss being able to have a yummy treat to just pop in my mouth when I need a little afternoon pick-me-up. Enter this recipe for Banana Split Energy Balls and my life is now complete. With a couple of little tweaks and using the Thrive I already had on hand, this recipe was easy to whip up and so so delicious!

Ingredients:
2 cups cashews (divided)
8 dates (divided)
2 T. almond milk
1/2 c. freeze-dried strawberries
1/2 c. freeze-dried pineapples
1/2 c. freeze-dried bananas
1 1/2 T. cocoa powder
1/2 T. peanut flour

Directions:

1. Make four bowls of individually flavored mixtures as follows:

   Strawberry
   Pulse 1/2 cup cashews in a food processor until they turn to a coarse bread crumb consistency. Add 2 dates and strawberries and pulse until crumbly. Add in 1/2 T. almond milk and pulse until it holds together slightly. Move to a bowl and set aside.

   Pineapple
   Pulse 1/2 cup cashews in a food processor until they turn to a coarse bread crumb consistency. Add 2 dates and pineapple and pulse until crumbly. Add in 1/2 T. almond milk and pulse until it holds together slightly. Move to a bowl and set aside.

   Banana
   Pulse 1/2 cup cashews in a food processor until they turn to a coarse bread crumb consistency. Add 2 dates and bananas and pulse until crumbly. Add in 1/2 T. almond milk and pulse until it holds together slightly. Move to a bowl and set aside.

   Chocolate
   Pulse 1/2 cup cashews in a food processor until they turn to a coarse bread crumb consistency. Add 2 dates, cocoa, and peanut flour and pulse until crumbly. Add in 1/2 T. almond milk and pulse until it holds together slightly. Move to a bowl and set aside.



2. Take 1 tsp. of each mixture and combine in the palm of your hand to form a ball. Each ball will taste like a banana split in your mouth! You can also form individual-flavored balls if it is taking to long to make the combined version. I made this one and tried to make it look like a real banana split shape. haha. I found the pineapple and strawberry varieties to be my favorite so it was yummy to have individual ones to snack on in my favorite flavors too.

-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net