Going through those training years, Simha and I needed those energy boosts at the hospital. And being pregnant with Om during fellowship, I wanted to eat healthy bars that did not have much junk in them. So I started making them at home.
These versatile laddoos can be made with any nut butter, nuts/dried fruits that you like. You could make them either into bites or bars. Simha likes them as laddoos (I think because it gets more coating of the chocolate). Haha!
You will need:
For laddoos:
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup nuts/dried fruits (any, I used pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds, pistachios, dried cranberries, raisins)
3 tbsp nut butter (any, I used almond)
1/4 tsp salt
For coating:
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
For toppings:
chia seeds
hemp seeds
flax seeds
pepita seeds
dessicated coconut
Method:
In a food processor, grind the mix of nuts and dried fruits. Take it out in a bowl. Then grind the dates to form a paste. Add back in the ground nuts/dried fruit mix. Add in the nut butter and salt. Pulse it till they combine well and can be molded in any form. At this point either you can shape them into balls (laddoos) or transfer them to a pan to mold them into a compact cube which can then be cut into bars.
Now time to make the coating. Combine the chocolate chips and coconut oil and melt them in microwave for 30 seconds. It could take you up to 1 minute depending on your microwave settings.
Coat the laddoos with melted chocolate. If you are shaping them as bars then you can drizzle the melted chocolate on top of the bars. Sprinkle them with all the toppings. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
ENJOY!
