Adaptogen Coconut Cacao Bliss Balls
Meet the magical Adaptogen Coconut Cacao Bliss Ball with Reishi & He Shou Wu. I wasn’t always a lover of the so-called “bliss ball”. The one’s I had to be unpleasantly sweet and sticky and chunky, a poor substitute for my sweet vices (namely Haribo gummis of all kinds…). But I couldn’t shake the idea of pretty little balls of energy filled with nutritional bliss. I shelved the idea for ages, but since I started making my own coconut milk for my coconut matcha lattes, I’ve found myself in possession of a lot of coconut pulp that I can’t bring myself to toss. I really wanted to call them Calming Immortality Beauty Bliss Balls. But that’s a bit over the top. And “balls” kinda makes everything funny. Calming Immortality Beauty Bliss Truffles? Eh, we’ll stick with adaptogen coconut cacao bliss balls. Read on to learn more about the magic ingredients!
I make raw vegan chocolate truffles (a luxurious, addictive cousin of the bliss ball), and my surplus of coconut pulp + my vegan truffle recipe + my passion for adaptogens & tonic herbs came together to form the inspiration for this ethereal recipe for adaptogen coconut cacao bliss balls. These are legit magic! They’re truly the best of both worlds: delicious + life-giving. Oh right, aaaand they’re insanely easy to throw together! Clutch.
So, theses contain reishi mushroom powder and he shou wu. Let’s just start by saying if you’re like “he did what?”, these ingredients are super simple to procure online—you can get them all on Amazon! BUT if you don’t have the time, money, or interest….just leave them out!
These are still awesome without the more esoteric ingredients. I think they add the extra magic, but they’re by no means a deal breaker. So don’t let them put you off this recipe for adaptogen coconut cacao bliss balls! If all you can get your hands on is almonds, dates, and coconut flakes, you’re well on your way to making these decadent adaptogen coconut cacao bliss balls—they’re snack time heroes. Eula, at 17 months old, loves them!
That said, if you do decide to dive in and give the adaptogens a try or you’re already a die hard herbal believer, let’s talk a little bit about those two ingredients. First off…
These are both herbs used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries. In TCM herbs are classified as either yin (spirit, feminine, cooling, watery, calming), yang (physical, masculine, warm, earthy, energizing), or balanced meaning they’re more towards the middle. Both of these are yin herbs, though reishi leans more towards the middle. They’re also both classed as “adaptogenic herbs”, which simply means they help the body deal with the negative effects of stress if taken consistently over time. For the full benefit of adaptogens, it’s best to take a dose daily. You can find a primer we did on adaptogens here.
Reishi Mushroom
Benefits
A yin herb nicknamed the “King of Mushrooms”, this medicinal mushroom is associated with spiritual power and immortality, and it’s linked to success, well-being, divine power, and longevity. It’s antioxidant, mood supporting (a great addition if you suffer from anxiety or depression), immune supporting, histamine reducing (good if you have allergies), supports heart health, anticarcinogenic (helps prevent cancer), promotes healthy sleep, promotes liver & kidney health, aids brain function, and maintains gut health. ‘Nuf said.
He Shou Wu
Benefits
This mysterious Chinese herb, also known as Fo-Ti, is especially known for it’s anti-aging properties, the name literally translates to “old black haired”, a reference to a legend of a man taking he shou wu and his hair turning from grey back to black. It’s a powerful antioxidant that promotes longevity as well as a known aphrodisiac. We’ll call it relationship promoting, yeah? Okay! It’s also blood toning, anti-inflammatory, stress reducing (as adaptogens generally are), As a strong yin herb it’s also been said to promote spiritual receptiveness, creativity, and inspiration making it a great choice for mystics and artists. If you’re a mystic artist…then this is definitely an herb you should add to your pantry!
The glow inducing cousin of the chocolate truffle, these adaptogen coconut cacao bliss balls are an awesome use for leftover coconut pulp from making coconut milk. These addictive, rich bites will fuel you through a busy day, and while they taste indulgent, they're packed with high quality fat, protein, and healing herbs. The reishi and he shou wu are totally optional, and you can even replace them with other herbs or adaptogens of your choice like maca, ashwaganda, or astragalus. While they definitely add the magic, don't feel like you can't make these without them...you totally can! And I speak from experience: you can totally pass these off as candy to your kids!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted almonds
- 1 1/2 cups coconut pulp (leftover from making coconut milk, can sub almond pulp or other nut pulp)
- 1 cup (130 grams) of pitted Medjool dates
- 1/3 cup raw cacao powder
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted at room temp
- 1 tablespoon reishi powder (optional, can sub adaptogen of choice or omit)
- 1 tablespoon he shou wu (optional, can sub adaptogen of choice or omit)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon flaky salt
- optional toppings: crushed freeze dried raspberries (my fave!), pistachios, rose petals, flaky salt, dark chocolate, cacao powder, coconut dust, toasted coconut flakes, bee pollen
Instructions
- Throw the almonds into a Vitamix, blender, or food processor. All will work, though I prefer the Vitamix. Pulse on medium speed about five times to chop them roughly, and then add the rest of the ingredients.
- Pulse on medium another five times to bring it all together, using the tamper to help if using a Vitamix or blender, and then blend on high, mixing well with the tamper as you blend, briefly until combined. I usually turn it off to give the blender a rest, and then give it one more good go. Having a few almond chunks is normal (and yummy!)
- Scrape into a bowl and chill for about 30 minutes before forming into balls. Using your hands, form into balls. I used heaping tablespoon sized portions.
- To finish, dust with fun stuff like toasted coconut, bee pollen, cacao nibs, flower petals, crushed freeze dried raspberries, and flaky salt. You can even dip them in melted dark chocolate for an extra indulgent treat. My favorite by far is rolling them in the crushed freeze dried raspberries! Store covered in the fridge for up to one week.
These are so gorgeous! Going to make these later this week 🙂
YES, balls are my favorite snack and i’m always trying to use up my nut milk pulps!! (the best sentence i will write today.)
ahahahaha….indeed! 😀
Ahh.. everything you make looks so beautiful and perfectly curated. But I get put off by ingredients I can barely pronounce usually.. therefor i just dream of deserts like these and go to the kitchen and have Nutella on toast. 🙂 I love reading ur blogs, though!
You can totally just make them with dates, almonds, and coconut flakes…no weird ingredients necessary! : )
What if you don’t make your own coconut milk? How can you create or find pulp to use?
You could blitz some coconut flakes in a food processor or a blender! But if you’re going to do that, might as well add some water, get the good coconut milk, and then use the pulp! But you if you didn’t want to do that, you could just pulse the flakes until ground.
Do you have a making coconut milk recipe posted? I don’t even know how to do that!
Because we are in a super tiny town allowing a substitution for certain ingredients! Means these are doable! Looking forward to making these. Thank you for sharing beauty
Can you sub canned coconut milk or cream for the pulp?
The pulp is a dry powder, so liquid wouldn’t work. You could take big coconut flakes or dessicated coconut and pulse them in a blender or food processor until they’re a powder and sub that!
Beautiful post! Going to try these!
Ooooo yum! Excited to try these
Those are beautiful! Can you sub coconut flakes for pulp?
I’d blitz the coconut flakes in a blender if subbing to make them more of a powder!
These look amazing. How do you do the crushed freeze dried raspberries? xo
I just crush them with mortar and pestle but you could put them in a ziplock and pound them with something heavy like a skillet too! : )
Wonderful Beth! Would you share what plug in you use for the option of printing your recipe. It’s one of the cleanest ones I’ve seen. x g
It’s Ziplist!! But my designer designed it and our coders coded it to look the way it does. So it is customizable! Great question : ) )
They’re gorgeous! I love the idea of adding adaptogens. Thanks for teaching me about He Shou Wu, which I hadn’t heard of before!
As I am allergic to almonds, can you suggest another nut that will offer a similar result for the recipe? I’m very anxious to try delightful looking bites!
Hazelnuts would be a great substitute for the almonds!
These look Só Happy & Lovely! Thank you for this great inspo, definitely will make these with the children of my cooking class, whom I try to infuse with some basic knowledge of fresh food, seasons & different cultures. I think our seemingly rich Western society is really in need of some basic life ingredients like how to treat ourselves and our minds, hearts & bodies and what we put into them. When I look around I see so much stress is put already on very young children at school, think it would be wise to reduce this pressure by focussing more on the essential, being together, enjoying oneselves preparing, sharing and eating good food.
I love the way you bring about your knowledge and heartfelt experiences and manage to bring them about in such a beautiful way so that it becomes a feast for the eye too.
Love 2 you! Djoeke (Amsterdam)
Hi Beth, Are you aware of having to activate the reishi? I was told by a forager that sells mushrooms all over the farmers markets here in NJ that reishi and chaga need to be activated cooking them for long periods like in a bone broth. What have you heard on this?
I use ashwaganda and astragalas and add some white or black pepper to mine but would love to try these.
The herbalist I work with hasn’t mentioned this being necessary, but I’ll do more research!
Hi Beth, I tried these using ashwagandha and cordyceps because those are the ones I had, and all I taste is ashwagandha! Do you think I could lower the amount of adaptogens I add and still have the same health effects? I wasn’t sure if the dosage you used came directly from your herbalist, or if they just apply to those adaptogens specifically.
Obsessed with these! Totally suits my chocolate-forward february mood 😉