5 Ingredient No-Bake Nut & Fruit Energy Bites (Dried Fruit Laddu)

5 Ingredient No-Bake Nut & Fruit Energy Bites (Dried Fruit Laddu) by DK on Apr 16, 2018

Nut Laddus Recipe | Indian Laddoo with Fruits and Nuts | Nut and Fruit Energy Bites Recipe

Life - every day seem to be passing by fast, like a blurry image out of a train window! I joke that my "to-do" list is inexhaustible like Arjuna's quiver!! For every line struck, I seem to be adding 5 more. Sigh! We are too busy to sit down for a nutritious meal, with fancy itty bitty pieces taking over that's all superficial talk/taste without substance. While many good options are available at health stores, they can be expensive. If you are not into ingredient reading, you might also miss out the few additives that are sneaked in masked under health food. My achilles heel is around evening 4 O'clock when the desire to eat the randomest junk strikes with vengeance. But over the years, I have figured out few snacks that seem to appease me and keep me in check when I need it to without having to spend too much time in the kitchen.

Like these energy bites for example. I love nuts; especially the roasted ones. While nutritious, they are high calorie and my portion sizes when it comes to nuts tend to be.. err..large! But for some weird reason combining them with dried fruit and making these bites tend to satiate me sooner and I am a much happier person with just one of these! May be its the fat/sweet/protein combo or some science behind the ingredients put together. Whatever it may be, these are perfect "pick-me-ups" for a busy day and also are a great lunch/snack box option for my family. A balanced diet includes nuts on a day to day basis and when my meal planning does not involve nuts/seeds, these come handy. Just pop one and you are good to go!

Cook time: No cook time
Prep time: No prep time
Yields: Makes around 8 Laddus

Ingredients

1/2 cup raw Almonds, see Tips
1/2 cup raw Walnuts
1/4 cup dried unsweetened Dark Cherries, see Tips
1/4 cup (abt 5-6) pitted Dates
1/4 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tbsp natural Almond Butter (just almonds and nothing else)
Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt

Tips

1. Almonds :If you can find unpasteurized almonds, do use them. In the US, most raw almonds are pasteurized/irradiated and this is done to help preserve foods and kill off harmful bacteria namely salmonella. But such a previous incident happened with conventionally grown almonds and not organic inspite of which all almonds are now pasteurized. But we know that pasteurization and heat destroy essential enzymes and vitamins as well. So, how do you get your hands on unpasteurized almonds? Check out your local farmer's market. I also buy online.

2. Dried Dark Cherries : I prefer to use sulphur free dried fruits. Used as a preservative, sulphites prevent the growth of bacteria and also inhibit enzymes which cause food to discolor and have bleaching and antioxidant actions. Hence they are commonly found in all your "health" ingredients as well. But just like any preservative, it comes with unwanted baggage and hence I use sulphur free counterparts.

Method

1. The nuts can be used raw without roasting. But my family prefers the flavor of the toasted nuts better and hence I choose to dry roast them separately on the skillet until aromatic. Just takes additional 5 minutes. [Optional Step].

2. Give them a coarse chop.

3. Now add everything to a blender

4. Blend until it comes together into a mixture.

5. You should be able to roll out a portion into a ball. If you are not able to, process it a bit more in your blender till you can.

Roll them out and store in an air tight container. These make about 8 balls. They keep well at room temperature for a week after which you can refrigerate them. They can also be frozen. If using raw nuts, then these will keep longer since roasting reduces the shelf life a bit. I always make only this portion hence these last easily for a week for me - just right for packing for my school/work lunch boxes.