Recipe: Healthy Christmas Pudding Balls

With all of the festive celebrations, dinners, parties this time of year, many of us tend to overindulge in food, especially at the sweets table. For your next party, why not whip up these tasty, healthy little bites as an alternative to the heavy sugar and processed carbohydrate dessert bombs that are the norm around the holidays? These are gluten free, dairy free and refined sugar free, and so simple to make with no baking required! They're a cross between my two favorite Christmas desserts: rum balls and Christmas pudding.

What You Need

1 cup almonds

8 medjool dates

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon powdered ginger

½ teaspoon vanilla

1 tablespoon orange zest

1-2 teaspoons fresh squeezed orange juice

2-3 tablespoons raisins

2 tablespoons dried goji berries

Desiccated coconut for rolling

What to Do

1. Add all ingredients except raisins, goji berries and coconut to a blender or food processor and mix until well combined. I recommend gradually adding the orange juice as you go to get the right doughy consistency. You want it to just come together and be easy to roll into little balls.
2. Mix/pulse through the raisins and gojis so they are still whole, which adds a great chewy texture to the dough.
3. Pop into the fridge for at least 30 minutes to let the flavors meld. This will also make it easier to roll the dough into little balls.
4. Use your hands and roll into little teaspoon sized balls, then roll in coconut to coat.
5. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week (or up to a month in the freezer).