The recipe is filled with nutritious ingredients including mood-boosting cocoa powder and protein packed peanut butter. Plus, they are naturally sweetened with medjool dates instead of refined sugar. Bliss balls always make the perfect healthy treat for when those sugar cravings hit. They’re a great snack for on-the-go and the perfect pick-me-up for anyone in the family who needs a nice boost of slow burning energy.

We’ve always got a batch of bliss balls going like these 5 minute apple and cinnamon bliss balls, Cookie Dough Energy Balls, Chocolate Orange Truffles and now these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls will be on high request because the kids have declared them their fave.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes. It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved and take the guess work out of what delicious, healthy food to make your kids for lunch!

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Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 125 grams Medjool dates, pitted
• 2 tablespoons Cacao powder
• 2 tablespoons Peanut butter
• 3/4 cup Mixed nuts and seeds I used pepitas, chia seeds, brazil nuts, almonds, hazelnuts and cashews
• 1/2 cup Desiccated coconut plus extra for rolling
• 1-2 tablespoons Brown rice syrup or maple syrup (optional) dates may provide enough sweetness

Instructions

• Pop all ingredients into a food processor and blend until all the ingredients clump together. Scoop around a tablespoon at a time and roll into a ball and roll in desiccated coconut if desired or leave plain. Should make around 12 balls. Store in the fridge.

Notes

I always double the recipe for bliss balls because they keep so well in the freezer. If you double this recipes then it becomes easy to add more variety of nuts and seeds too. 

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

My teens are always ‘STARVING’ and even when I double recipes, these days they gobble it all down in one hit which means sadly for me there are barely any leftovers to reuse or repurpose : (

For the sake of my sanity I’m determined to beat this and create meals and snacks which are nutritious and FILL ‘EM UP so I’m not constantly cooking!

Grab my ebook Real Food For Hungry Teens and fill those hollow legs!

So my first endeavour resulted in this Double Chocolate Banana Slab Cake full of ingredients to satisfy and satiate.

With nutritious ingredients like banana, oats, chia seeds, eggs, milk, butter, nut butter and a little avocado, this cake is the answer to my prayers to stop the incessant niggling and nagging for ‘more food’ especially after school.

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favourite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Cacao Powder
Maple Syrup
Whole Spelt Flour 
Rapadura Sugar
Baking Powder
Salt
Cinnamon
Dark Chocolate Chips
Rolled Oats
Medjool Dates
Coconut Milk

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration take a look at my ebook, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar-free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved, and take the guesswork out of what delicious, healthy food to pack your kids for lunch!

If you need nut-free icing take a look at my 10 Real Food Icing recipes here.

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Double Chocolate Banana Slab Cake

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Servings 14

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

CAKE

• 3 ripe bananas
• 115 grams butter melted
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• ¼ cup milk can use any milk like almond, dairy, coconut, rice, oat ....
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup rapadura sugar or coconut sugar
• 1.5 cups whole spelt flour or unbleached plain flour
• 1/2 cup cacao powder or Dutch processed Cocoa
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 3/4 cup whole oats
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips

ICING

• 1/4 cup nut butter I used peanut butter because that’s what I had
• 2 teaspoons pure maple syrup or rice syrup
• 3 teaspoons raw cocoa powder
• 2 Medjool dates
• 2 tablespoons avocado can’t taste it but gives body to the mix and extra nutrition!
• 1 tablespoon milk you can use almond, dairy, rice, coconut etc, any will work
• 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

• Grease and line a 20 x 20 square tin
• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.

CAKE

• In a large bowl, mash the bananas.
• Melt butter and pour over the top of bananas and stir. Add eggs, vanilla, milk and combine well.
• Sift in the flour, cacoa powder, baking powder, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Add chia seeds, whole oats and chocolate chips. Fold the mixture until just combined.
• Pour mixture into prepared tin and bake approx 30 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. All ovens are different so I would check at 20 minutes to check if cooked.
• Remove from oven. Allow to cool in tin for 5 minutes before turning out onto cooling tray. Cool completely before icing.

ICING

• Pop all ingredients into a small food processor and blend until smooth.

Notes

Cut into squares or bars and store in air tight container or freezer.

If you make this recipe and share on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek.

Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook.

Some other delicious healthy treats you might like are Raw Caramel Slice and Cookie Dough Energy Balls.

Do you have hungry kids who are bottomless pits too?

The netball representative carnivals are high intensity. They involve 7-8 half games in one day, preparing the girls for the big finale that is the 3-day State Netball Championships!

The players aren’t really that hungry throughout the day, which is natural as they’re keeping their energy for playing, not digesting, but they still need to eat and drink to help prevent fatigue, keep them focused and keep their energy steady.

In our Under 13’s age group, at the coaches request (yay!), all the parents pitch in to make sure there is an array of healthy snacks and food for the girls to eat between games.

Small protein and carb snacks are ideal which was how these Cookie Dough Energy Balls were born. As well as the fact my daughter’s main motivation to bake weekly is the allure of eating the leftover batter in the bowl at the end!

The combination of ingredients provide the perfect boost for the girls, all wrapped up in delicious, easy-to- eat little bites.

I have made a few batches of this since I created the recipe a couple of weeks ago and I can’t keep my kids hands off them (or mine!).

While most of us won’t be able to pack these in our school lunchboxes due to the nuts, my Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes recipe ebook is filled with nut free sweet and savoury recipes, like Apricot, Orange and Coconut Bliss Balls and Chocolate Tahini Oat Bites …

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled oats
Desiccated coconut
White chia seeds
Almond meal
Peanut butter
Raw honey
Milk
Sea salt
Vanilla extract
Dark chocolate chips

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Cookie Dough Energy Balls

Prep Time 15 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cups rolled oats or you can just use oat flour
• 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
• 1 tablespoon white chia seeds optional
• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1 tablespoon milk I used almond milk
• pinch sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ cup unsalted butter
• 1/3 cup mini dark-chocolate chips

Instructions

• In a food processor, grind oats, coconut and chia seeds (if using), until finely ground.
• Add peanut butter, honey, almond meal, salt, vanilla, butter and milk. Process again until it's all mixed together well.
• Stir through choc chips
• Roll tablespoons of the dough into balls, if rolling proves difficult, press into balls using the palm of your hand.
• Store in refrigerator. Can be frozen.

Notes

Time Saving Tip: Alternatively you can line a shallow square or rectangular baking tin with baking paper and press the dough into the tin, pop in freezer to set, then cut into bars.

If you’re looking for more recipe inspiration, take a look at my new recipe ebook which is getting rave reviews, Easy Wholefood Lunchboxes.

It’s packed with 40 delicious nut-free, refined sugar free sweet and savoury recipes which have all been kid-tested and approved!

If you make this recipe please do take photos and send them to me.

If you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. Otherwise feel free to pm me your photos via Facebook. I get a total kick out of seeing you bring my recipes to life.

Other similar recipes you might like are Raw Cacao Balls  and Chocolate Orange Truffles

Bren x

So I dropped everything, marched into the kitchen, and threw together a mix of tastes that would satisfy me .

But I barely got a taste before they kids piled in from school and smashed bowls of it with almond milk and raspberries.

We have since just eaten it by the handfuls, layered into parfaits, lobbed into a bowl with fruit and yoghurt, and topped it onto smoothies.

This Chocolate Crunch Granola is seriously one of my favourite things to munch on.

The recipe is quite forgiving so feel free to use your preferred mix of nuts, seeds and spices.

Here’s some more breakfast inspo in my FREE “Think Outside The Cereal Box’ recipe book. You can download it here >>>>>

Many of the ingredients in this recipe can be sourced from my one-stop-favourite, organic wholefoods online store, The Wholefood Collective. They go to great lengths to ensure everything they source is amazing quality, they stock all my favorite products and I don’t even have to leave the house! Oh and the cherry on the cake is they donate profits to improve food security for vulnerable Aussies.

Here are some of the ingredients you’ll need:

Rolled oats
Activated buckwheat kernels
Coconut flakes
Sunflower seeds
Pepitas
Hazelnuts
Apricots
Ground ginger
Cinnamon
Raw cacao
Sea salt
Vanilla powder
Rice syrup or maple syrup
Coconut oil

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Chocolate Crunch Granola

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup activated buckwheat kernels optional, I use Loving Earth brand. They're exy but they last forever
• 1 cup coconut flakes and an extra cup if you're not using the buckwheat kernels
• 1/4 cups sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup pepitas
• 1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts because I love hazelnuts and chocolate
• 1/2 cup chopped apricots I use sulphur-free and organic, you can use sultana's, dates, dried figs, but it is important to include some dried fruit as it helps to cut through the bitterness of the cacao and is just plain delicious when mixed with everything else
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• pinch cloves
• 2-3 tablespoons raw cacao depends on your taste
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract or essence
• 3 tablespoons rice syrup or you can use maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil melted (I just put the coconut oil into a ramekin and pop into the oven while it preheats to melt)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 160 degrees C
• Line a big baking tray with baking paper
• Mix all the dry ingredients in a big bowl
• Add coconut oil, vanilla and rice or maple syrup
• Spread the mixture in the tray
• Place in oven for 10 minutes and check 2-3 times, each time stirring it around to ensure it's cooking evenly and the edges aren't burning. Total cooking time will be around 25 mins
• Allow to cool completely before transferring granola to jar or container, so you get those nice chunky pieces.

If you know someone who could use some healthy breakfast inspo, please share this recipe with them!

And please take photos and send them to me, or if you share them on instagram, remember to tag me @brendajanschek. You know I get a kick out of seeing you make my recipes.

Here are a couple other breakfast recipes ideas you might love My Favourite Homemade Granola and Choc-Banana Nut Smoothie.

Bren x

Coconut flour is high in fibre, healthy fats and protein and has a low GI.

The flour is  made from ground and dried coconut meat and it’s good to remember that it can’t be used as a direct swap for other flours in recipes. That would be a recipe for disaster. So please don’t try to take a traditional recipe and convert to a coconut flour recipe, it just won’t work.

Bascially, when using coconut flour, you will inevitably need less flour and more liquid in the ratios.

Here’s a bunch of recipes from some very talented recipe writers, follow these and you won’t go wrong.

Chocolate Pudding with Gooey Bits by Low Tox Life

Almond, Lemon & Coconut Steamed Pudding by Quirky Cooking 

Berry Mug Cake by Becomingness

Gluten and Nut-Free Apple Bread by Becomingness

Berry and Walnut Crumble Slice by Mummy Made It

Carrot Cake by Natural New Age Mum

Healthy Tiny Teddies by Mummy Made It

Lemon Drizzle Cake by Yummy Inspirations

Paleo Banana Loaf by Dom’s Kitchen

Brownie Cake by Brenda Janschek Health and Lifestyle

And a few savoury recipes…

Carrot and Parsnip Muffins by The Joyful Table

Super-simple Salmon Patties by The Holistic Nutritionist

Gaps Wraps by Quirky Cooking

Enjoy!

The ginger and molasses in this recipe produce a taste reminiscent of gingerbread men and all things Christmas. Experiment with other ingredients like dates and walnuts, but this one is hard to go past on its own, judging by the ‘double thumbs up’ from the ladies at the workshop not to mention my family!

Are you following me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest?

Have you signed up for my FREE BREAKFAST EBOOK HERE to get on my mailing list and have free recipe updates and special offers delivered to your inbox?

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Ginger and Molasses Loaf

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Author Brenda Janschek

Ingredients

• 1 cup white spelt flour
• 1 cup wholemeal spelt flour
• 3 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• small pinch nutmeg
• 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarb of soda
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 100 gms butter
• 1/2 cup coconut sugar
• 2 tablespoons molasses
• 1/4 cup maple syrup
• 1 1/4 cup yoghurt
• 1 egg beaten

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a loaf tin and line it with parchment paper.
• Sift the flour, ginger, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, bicarb soda and sea salt into a bowl and combine.
• Warm the butter, sugar, molasses, and maple syrup in a saucepan over low heat until the butter has melted. Pour this into the dry mixture and add the yoghurt and egg and stir until just combined.
• Pour into the loaf tin and bake for 40-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 5 minutes then turn onto a wire rack.
• Once cool wrap it up in baking paper keep in fridge for 3-5 days before eating. Or just bock in whenever you want to!
• Slice and spread with butter and enjoy!

Other recipes you might like…

Ginger Biscuits

Ginger, Cardamon, Molasses Cookie Hearts

Cardamon Spice Cake