When I first made these truffles I thought I was going to melt with delight. Perhaps it was a reflection of the multi-sensory experience when I took my first bite; soft, sweet, rich, melt in the mouth chocolate covered sensual deliciousness.

Difficult to imagine so much from such an easy recipe with only 5 ingredients. Yet, using good quality organic ingredients (including raw homemade chocolate) makes the essence of these truffles quite divine.

The best things in life don’t always have to be difficult at all. If you don’t want to cover them with chocolate, then it’s even easier – simply roll them in desiccated coconut or ground nuts.

Nutritionally speaking, these are little power-packed nourishing treasures.

They are full of protein, essential fats, anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins.

Flax seeds and walnuts are both omega 3 superheroes. Omega 3 is excellent for heart health, brain function, managing cholesterol levels, and digestive health; and is often lacking in the human diet (whether conventional or plant-based).

A couple of the noteworthy ingredients in this recipe…

Flax seeds are an amazing source of omega 3 essential fats. Flax seeds also contain up to a whopping 800 times more lignans than other plant foods. Lignans are not only known for their helpful antioxidant properties, but they also have powerful estrogen qualities, making them very supportive for hormone health.

Flax is also an excellent high fibre food.

Walnuts contain a plethora of beneficial nutrients, including rare antioxidants and phytonutrients, that aren’t normally found in other foods. They contain phytonutrients such as the tannin tellimagrandin or the flavonol morin (very rare, with invaluable antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties).

According to WHfoods… “These anti-inflammatory and antioxidant phytonutrients also help explain the decreased risk of certain cancers—including prostate cancer and breast cancer—in relationship to walnut consumption.”

Walnuts have excellent levels of copper (with key roles in tissue support, bone health, energy levels) and manganese (important for bone production, skin health, and blood sugar control).

Walnuts also have remarkably high levels of the antioxidant vitamin E, in the form of gamma-tocopherol, which has been shown to be particularly beneficial cardiovascularlar health.

It’s actually quite easy to make these once you get the swing of it.

The first step involved soaking our dates in water to soften them. Soaking for at least an hour should soften them enough for blending. Then after draining them, we blend along with the walnuts, vanilla and ground flax (a hand blender or food processor works best for this).

We roll into teaspoon sized balls and then pop them in the freezer. Freezing helps them rapidly firm up and also chills them so that the chocolate coating will quickly set when you go to coat them.

Then we make a batch of homemade chocolate (check out making home made raw vegan chocolate page for recipe) – alternative just buy a bar of healthy chocolate instead and use that.

We melt the chocolate and then take the balls out of the freezer.

Then we take each ball individually on a spoon. Drop into the melted chocolate. Turn around with the spoon until evenly coated with chocolate and then drop back onto the plate. If the balls and ceramic plate were chilled in the freezer, the chocolate should quickly set.

Next, we place these back into the freezer for 10 minutes to set firmly. They serve well right out of the freezer or fridge whenever you are ready. Yummy!

OK, let’s get to the recipe. If you are choosing the home-made chocolate option, then check out my chocolate making recipe page (with a handy step by step video guide) here.

Raw chocolate covered walnut truffles - with excellent omega 3 health benefits Yield: 10 balls Prep Time: 30 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes A deliciously healthy, soft, sweet, chocolate covered walnut truffle recipe. Print Ingredients 100g pitted dates (approx 3/4 cup)

100g walnuts (approx 3/4 cup)

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

75g (approx) homemade chocolate Instructions Prepare ahead by soaking your dates in water to soften them. Soaking for at least an hour should soften them enough for blending. Alternatively use pitted medjool dates and miss out the soaking period altogether. Once soaked, drain the dates thoroughly to remove any excess moisture. Blend the dates with the walnuts and vanilla extract using a hand blender or food processor, until you achieve a thoroughly blended consistency. If you like things to be a bit rustic, then you can also leave it a little chunky. Once you have blended the mixture, add the ground flax seed in, either using the blend, processor or by pressing in with a spoon. Roll into teaspoon sized balls and pop on a ceramic plate, placing them into the freezer whilst you make the chocolate covering. Freezing helps them rapidly firm up and also chills them so that the chocolate coating will quickly set when you go to coat them. Make a batch of home made chocolate (check out making home made raw vegan chocolate page for recipe) - If you are making chocolate from scratch then keep it at the ‘melted stage’ in the heatproof bowl. Alternatively, melt a pre-purchased organic, sugar-free bar of chocolate by placing a heatproof bowl into a pan (on the cooker) with about an inch of hot water in it; breaking into chunks and allowing it to melt. When the chocolate is ready, take the balls out of the freezer. Take each ball individually on a spoon. Drop into the melted chocolate. Turn around with the spoon until evenly coated with chocolate and then drop back onto the plate. If the balls and ceramic plate were chilled in the freezer, the chocolate should quickly set. Place these back into the freezer for 10 minutes to set firmly. They serve well right out of the freezer or fridge whenever you are ready. Notes If you have extra chocolate left when all the balls have been coated, then you can either coat them with another layer, or set into a mould and get a couple of extra little chocolates.

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Helpful resources:

Health info about walnuts: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=99

Health info about flax seeds: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81