Lemon Coconut Bliss Meltaways or otherwise known as getting nutrient-dense foods into my kids...

So I am continuing on my quest to create delicious "sinful" looking but HEALTHY snacks for my family, especially for my kids lunches....

As I'd said in my last post, my step-daughter (almost 12) avoids all things healthy, so it can be a bit tricky getting the goodness into her. And my little kiddo (age 4), while she will eat healthy food, can be super picky too! After her diagnoses of Gluten-Intolerance, as well as an intolerance to Amaranth, milk, and soy, we had to wipe out many of her favorite daily staples.

So much of my recent life has been all about making healthy nutrient-dense snacks, so that I can at least guarantee that they will get some nourishment out of their day. But as you may have noticed, many of the nutrient-dense foods can taste... well... earthy and seed-like. Eating them straight may make one feel like a small farm animal or squirrel.

My husband too, well, he's fairly mainstream with his tastes. God forbid he has to eat Quinoa! I mean he will do it because he loves me, and he doesn't grimace while he's doing it, but he does make a point of saying later, that if I choose to never make quinoa again, that would be fine with him.

So as you can see, I have a lot working against me. But I do have the sheer drive to make my family healthy whether they like it or not! I find the trick is to make the food taste like they're eating sinful snacks... while secretly they are laden with all the goodness I can pack into them.

And here is yet another example of my brilliance!


LEMON COCONUT BLISS MELTAWAYS
...or otherwise known as.... getting nutrient-dense foods into my kids (and husband)!

It's really quite easy of a recipe!

First thing you do is put out your food processor and fill it with every ingredient below:

• 1 1/3 cups almond meal

• 1 cup shredded coconut (I used raw)

• 1/4 cup raw hemp seeds

• 1/4 cup raw pistachios

• 1/3 cup coconut flour

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 4-5 Tbsp raw honey

• Zest from one large lemon

• Juice from one large lemon

• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil

NOTE: You will need extra shredded coconut for rolling the meltaways in... I have no idea how much exactly. I probably should have measured!

Anyway.....

Then pulse it a bit until it breaks into smaller pieces, then you can run it for a while until it looks soft and mushy. When you touch it, it will feel oily, but that will go away when you chill them in the fridge.

The above picture is pulsed and ground less than the below picture. You could really do either depending on your preference.... the more you blend it up, the softer the chew....

I used a small cookie scooper to keep the balls a uniform size, but you don't have to use one if you don't want to, or if you don't have one. Though I highly recommend you get one! They are super useful!

After you scoop a ball, roll it in your hands (yes it will be SUPER oily then and the oil will feel like it's about to drip off your hands) and place it on a cookie sheet or plate or whatever. After you do them all, roll each of them in the extra shredded coconut. Truth be told, I used the larger shredded coconut for the insides, and luckily happened to have the tiny stuff for the outsides.

After I rolled them in the coconut, I rolled them in my hands again to really seal in the coconut. You can see the difference from the above (unsealed coconut) to the below (sealed coconut). You probably don't have to do that, but hey, I can be a bit OCD and I thought it would have a better mouth-feel.

Then stick them in the fridge to chill! Or you can cheat and eat a few right away.... I did!

Oh and my little kiddo ate 2 of them before they even chilled and said, "You did a great job mommy!"

ENJOY!