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dani california cooks

homegrown and homemade in CA

Trail Mix Truffles

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Take the best flavors of your favorite trail mix and turn them into an extra portable, gluten free snack - great for lunchboxes or hikes! Now only if I had remembered to bring them with me to Big Sur last weekend…

Trail Mix Truffles | danicaliforniacooks.com Sigh…I wasn’t fibbing when I said I forgot these last weekend on our big trip to Big Sur. Since I travel every week for work and I wasn’t getting in until Friday night last week, I had to rely on my fellow hikers to pull together all of the food for the trip. Let’s just say that this food blogger was very upset that she couldn’t have all the control over what was brought on the trip, so she made a bunch of snacks to bring the week prior, froze them, and then promptly forgot ’em. However, for once it was kind of nice having someone else make all of my food decisions for me and there really is nothing better than a PB&J on the trail. I couldn’t have planned it better myself!

Trail Mix Truffles | danicaliforniacooks.com These snack balls/bites pack the best of a solid trail mix into one chewy mouthful. They are full of nuts, whole grains, dried fruits, and the addition of dark chocolate is simply a must. Rolling these babies in coconut or cocoa powder just kind of elevates them to the next (delicious) level. They would have been perfect for the trail, but they are also awesome all of the time. For a snack, for dessert, before a workout, after a workout, scarfing a few before bed, you know, whatever works. And lucky for me, we are doing an overnight sailing trip this weekend in the SF bay and I know these are going to be the perfect grab and go snack option in between tacking (…and mimosas).

Trail Mix Truffles | danicaliforniacooks.com These balls/bites/truffles are food processed to perfection, meaning that there are still big nuggets of almond and chocolate and date - they aren’t too blended at all. Up to you though if you prefer a smoother consistency however! Bah - I just realized that a lot of these photos with the black background kind of look like the truffles are spread out in a starry night sky. Guess I was already thinking of the wilderness and being on the trail in my subconscious! Although we drank enough wine during our camping trip to not even really pay attention to the constellations. Truth.

Trail Mix Truffles | danicaliforniacooks.com On a different note, I started using Adobe Lightroom to edit my photos for the first time with these truffles. I had been using the free program GIMP before, and it’s definitely taking some getting used to with using this new program. Any advice for lightroom or tutorials that you like? Google is certainly my best friend when it comes to anything technology-related when it comes to the blog!


5.0 from 2 reviews
Trail Mix Truffles
 
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Take the best flavors of your favorite trail mix and turn them into an extra portable snack - great for hikes or your lunchbox!
Author:
Serves: 1 dozen
Ingredients
  • ⅓ cup rolled oats
  • ⅓ cup chopped dried dates
  • ⅓ cup almonds
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter
  • ¼ cup chocolate chips
  • Optional: Cocoa powder and/or coconut flakes
  • Optional, if needed: Warm water and/or honey
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into a food processor, and pulse until a ball starts to form
  2. If the mixture is having trouble sticking together, you can add a little warm water or honey
  3. Roll into a ball and cover with plastic wrap
  4. Stick into the freezer for 10 minutes
  5. Remove and roll into bite size balls
  6. Dust on cocoa powder or coconut flakes for variety!

If you like this, you’ll love: Coconut Almond Energy Bars

Sailing Part 2 + Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins

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I want to apologize that all of my posts this week have been about my most recent sailing trip, but I'm still in such a vacation glow mode that even sitting here in rainy Olympia, WA can't kill my mood. Granted, I STILL feel like I'm swaying on a boat AND the after effects of a week on dramamine are making me foggy AND I have a bruise on my hip the size of a tennis ball. But, I figure I'd do the best of both worlds and while I really want to just post beautiful pictures of the Bahamas all week, I'll give you a recipe as well. For muffins! These would actually have been awesome to bring on the sailing trip - non-perishable, healthy, and grab-and-go. Next time I'll probably bake up a storm beforehand. One girl brought a couple of loaves of banana bread onboard and hungry sailors went to TOWN on it at all hours of the day. In the meantime, you ready for some more sailing pictures? And then muffins? crew1 sunken stingray stes nate1 Major sigh. Okay, now onto the muffins.
Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins | danicaliforniacooks.com I have to admit - I didn't actually sample these muffins but I can say that they are boyfriend and grandma approved. I made these for my grandmother's birthday, and she is always saying that what I cook for her isn't "sweet enough" so I did add some sugar to this recipe. Just for grandma, alright?! Nate said they tasted "healthy" and he liked them. So I guess they were sweet enough for grandma and wholesome enough for the boyfriend - score. Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins | danicaliforniacooks.com If you are a muffin fan, I highly recommend making your own. They are really easy to whip up, require very little clean up, and healthy homemade muffins have an ingredients list that is a bajillion times better than anything Starbucks or store-bought. Granted, they don't taste like dessert. But I digress. You can use the base recipe I provided below, and swap in any kinds of dried nuts or fruits instead of dates and walnuts (although that combo is killer). If you don't want to add the refined sugar, try playing around with mashed banana or maple syrup, although you may need to adjust the flour ratios a bit. Hope you enjoy - and see you all in a week when I'm gloriously tan and have some serious sea legs! Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins | danicaliforniacooks.com
Roadtripping + Sailing + Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins
 
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These healthy muffins combine rolled oats and wheat flour and are paired with sweet dates and crunchy walnuts for a wholesome breakfast or snack!
Author:
Serves: 1 dozen
Ingredients
  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • ½ cup rolled oats
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, softened
  • 1 egg
  • ½ cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • ½ cup milk
  • ⅓ cup chopped dates
  • ⅓ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
  2. Combine all ingredients but the dates and walnuts, and whisk thoroughly
  3. Fold in the dates and walnuts
  4. Coat muffin tin with cooking spray (or use liners), and spoon batter up to ⅔ of the way to the top of the muffin
  5. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean
Multigrain Walnut and Date Muffins | danicaliforniacooks.com

Coconut Almond Energy Bars + (one cooking resolution down!)

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Save money and make your own Larabar-esque energy bars at home - extra protein thanks to hemp hearts!
Raw Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com Hooooray! Remember when I made a semi-ambitious list of cooking resolutions to accomplish in 2015? Check out the rest of the 11 that I aim to tackle this year. One down!

I’d also like to front this story by saying that as I write this, my mom is currently cooking food…for the dog. Yes, Sally the lab now gets boiled chicken, brown rice, and squash for her meals. She eats better than I do!

Granted…this might have been the easiest resolution to accomplish given that it’s not even real cooking. Since I travel so much for work, finding healthy portable foods that I can throw in my bag and forget about in case of a breakfast emergency are really important. But I have to say, beyond protein bars and nuts, there are few and far between! And Larabars and ThinkThin bars and KIND bars are NOT cheap. Also, sometimes I don’t want the full 240 calories that make up one of those bars, sometimes I just want a 100 calorie snack. And there’s no way I’m eating half a Larabar. So I’ve been really inspired to try making my own energy bars with a Larabar-style base and portion them out into the size that I want to snack on. Introducing…Coconut Almond Energy Bars! Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com I wanted a base of almonds and dates. Almonds for fat and protein and texture, dates to bind it all together. And I LOVE dates. I’m starting to realize that I’m all about textures. I love gummy candy and dried fruit, and dates certainly top that list. When I was in Israel and Turkey with Nate, I subsisted off dried dates and figs. For this recipe, I also wanted shredded unsweetened coconut because my love for coconut is undying. And I had visions of this being Almond Joy flavored so I threw in some cocoa powder. And then I wanted more protein, so I used hemp hearts. It was kind of a hodge podge, but I went for it. Pulsed in the food processor and delicious, warming smells filled my kitchen. Who knew? These energy bars smell like HEAVEN.

Once the almonds are finely chopped and the “dough” is starting to cling together in the food processor, remove and roll into a large ball. Cover in saran wrap before using a rolling pin to flatten and cut into bars. If you don’t have the cover in between the saran wrap and the mixture, it might stick to your rolling pin. Which was, in my case, a bottle of wine.

Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com

Step 1

Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com

Step 2

Slice into the bars of your liking! This part is fun and extremely satisfying. You can make these in your size of choice, but mine are about 3 inches long by 1 inch wide. Some are more stubby or long than others. They’re homemade!! Roll up the excess “dough” and re-flatten to cut into more bars. Then you can wrap individually or in pairs in more saran wrap and keep in your fridge. They have great coconut and almond flavor, and the cocoa powder adds a warming spice and depth that doesn’t scream “chocolate!” but makes them more than just your average vegan date-almond mixture. Interested in the nutrition profile on these guys? I certainly was.

Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com 80 calories per bar. 3g protein. 2g fiber. 5g fat. Possibly the perfect 3pm snack. Eat a few of these with a banana for a perfect breakfast. Even Grandma approved of them as a DESSERT and I can tell you honestly, she has critiqued my sweets/baked goods before for “not being sweet enough”. The dates and coconut really pack a punch. I hope you enjoy these as much as I do, and I can’t wait to make versions of this base recipe into energy “balls” and keep trying out new flavors. Unlike other of my resolutions in the past (“spend less $$ on taxis”) this might be one of those resolutions that sticks.
Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com

Coconut Almond Energy Bars
 
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Homemade coconut almond energy bars with added hemp protein are the perfect grab-and-go snack throughout the week.
Author:
Serves: 18 bars
Ingredients
  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 1 cup chopped, softened dates (use warm water or the microwave)
  • ¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 tbsp hemp hearts
  • 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into a food processor
  2. Pulse on high until the almonds have been finely chopped
  3. Remove contents from food processor and roll into a ball
  4. Cover with syran wrap and use a rolling pin to roll into ¼ inch thick layer
  5. Cut into 3 x 1 inch bars
  6. Repeat with leftover dough form cutting
  7. Wrap individually in syran wrap and store in fridge
Nutrition Information
Calories: 80 Fat: 4g Carbohydrates: 9g Fiber: 2g Protein: 3g
Coconut Almond Energy Bars | danicaliforniacooks.com