Lemon. Wolfberry. Truffle. What’s not to love about the sound of that. Even better, they are raw. They’ll help you get the kids into the kitchen for some family fun. And they are healthier blackmail than store-bought lollies. Awesome.
We’ve enhanced their flavour and given them extra zing by adding genuine lemon essential oil. Please note well: It’s imperative that you only use essential oil as a food additive if the label clearly indicates it is safe to do so, like Young Living Lemon essential oil.
These moist and more-ish snacks do contain natural sugars from fruit and nectar. But our bodies need certain healthful sugars to work properly. So before we get to the recipe, let’s talk sugar.
When eliminating sugars from your diet, it’s important to be mindful of what kind of sugars they are. It can be overwhelming, so start by focusing on the big stuff: processed foods and drinks.
Every time you buy them, you’re most likely treading into unhealthy sugar territory and loads of it. There’s a good chance they are cheap, simple, high GI sugars that are best skipped or minimised. And when you see corn/maize syrup (maize is corn) and many glucose syrups (this ingredient name is often used as a synonym for corn syrup), you’re looking at a double whammy. Run a mile.
Over 90% of corn/maize grown in the United States is genetically modified. Canada isn’t too far behind. At the time of writing, corn grown in Australia is not genetically modified. BUT foods manufactured here can contain corn products grown overseas.
And because GMO labelling is about as transparent as my feet, foods whose GM ingredients are highly refined are not required to indicate GMO on the label. Permission to scratch heads at this juncture. Let’s see … highly processing something does not reverse its genetically-modified status quo, does it? No, but that’s the crazy state of labelling laws for you.
Another plus of managing sugar by eliminating processed foods is that you know exactly what and how much sugar you’re getting. It will either be a natural sugar that’s part of the food – hello, fruit – or a sugar you add, in which case you’re in full control of your choice.
So let’s look at a couple of natural sugars in this recipe and have a quick lesson in wolfberries and agave nectar.
Premium wolfberries include polyphenols and polysaccharides. Polyphenols are phytochemicals (they are found in plant foods) with antioxidant properties. Polysaccharides are essential sugars that are basically complex carbohydrates which help with energy levels.
Wolfberries also include a bunch of healthful things like zeaxanthin, amino acids and other micronutrients and phytochemicals. The ones we’ve chosen are Young Living’s organic Lycium barbarum wolfberries from the NingXia region. (With their relentless commitment to quality, you can be sure they are the best around. Click here to order and get our team support.)
As for agave, it’s been the golden child of the natural sweetening world for some time, though does come under fire through no fault of its own when its benefits are exaggerated. Yes: it still has calories. But because it’s much sweeter than sugar, you use less. And organic Blue Agave has a glycemic index of only 25 versus sugar at 68-85. We figure that has to still make it a preferred choice over sugar if you want to add a little sweetness to your cooking.
Moving on from sugar to essential oils, authentic lemon essential oil boosts the flavour of these treats. And because they are raw and not exposed to heat, the beneficial properties of this oil remain intact for you to enjoy. Click here for our top 9 tips for lemon oil to learn more about this humble but amazing must-have in your oils collection. And now onto our recipe: enjoy!
Raw Lemon Wolfberry Truffle Balls with Essential Oils
Adapted from Lauren Garcina and Ascension Kitchen (Makes 18-20 and Super Easy)
TRUFFLE INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup fine almond meal
- 2 cups coconut, desiccated
- ¼ cup Young Living Blue Agave Nectar or 100% pure high grade maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil
- ¼ cup lemon juice
- Zest of one lemon
- 3-6 drops Young Living Lemon essential oil*** (other delicious options: Young Living Orange and Tangerine essential oils)
- ¼ cup Young Living Organic Dried Wolfberries
- ½ teaspoon organic vanilla bean paste or extract
- Pinch of coarse sea salt
COATING INGREDIENTS
- Zest of one lemon (buy organic or clean skin first with Young Living Thieves Fruit & Veggie Soak or Spray for fruit & veges as nature intended)
- ¼ cup coconut, desiccated
PREPARATION
- Put the coating ingredients in a plate ready for the rolling process
- In your food processor, blitz all truffle ingredients except the wolfberries until well combined
- Add the wolfberries and give another quick blitz just to break them down a little without pulverising them
- Dampen hands lightly and roll into balls using 1 tablespoon per ball
- Roll each ball in the coating mixture as you make it
- If you have a dehydrator, you can get creative with these. Give them a macaroon-like texture by dehydrating for 6 hours at 45 C or 115 F
*** Note: It is imperative that you only use oils this way when indicated on the label of any essential oil. And when buying any oils for any purpose, please do check out their credentials. Not all oils are created equal. Quality varies immensely, so please ensure you are choosing a brand with complete transparency from seed to seal, such as Young Living. Discover why we love them so much in this short video.
This will also connect you up with The Good Oil Team for our personal support and coaching. We'd love to help you on your journey to vibrant well-being the natural way!
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