Bliss Balls Recipe – Baby Friendly

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This yummy bliss balls recipe is great for older babies, little kids and big kids alike. They contain healthy fats (amazing for growing bodies and brains!), fibre, protein and complex carbohydrates – everything you need in a nutritionally balanced snack! Made using Medjool dates and a combination of seeds, these bliss balls are just sweet enough and allergy friendly.

Contents:

Unlike my Chocolate Peanut Butter Bliss Balls these bliss balls are completely nut free with no chocolate, making them a great snack for babies from 10 months and up. Though they are seriously delicious and I highly recommend trying them for anyone that doesn’t have a nut allergy. If you do have a nut allergy, you could also try my Nut Free Chocolate Bliss Balls. They are delicious and so great for kids lunchboxes (and adults of course!).

I wouldn’t recommend these bliss balls for a baby under 10 months. I would also recommend that you don’t introduce these until your baby can confidently eat finger foods.

What Are Bliss Balls?

Bliss balls (also known as power balls or energy balls) are no bake balls, generally made up using whole food ingredients like nuts, seeds, dates and coconut. Sometimes they’re made using other ingredients oats, apricots (or other dried fruits), cocoa powder etc, depending on what flavour bliss ball it is. Bliss balls make for an excellent snack as they are a highly nutritious energy boost, but also sweet. For this reason, they are great if you are a sweet tooth as they sooth the craving but provide you with the nutrients your body was craving as well.

Things to Love About This Bliss Balls Recipe

• allergy friendly – These bliss balls are dairy, gluten, refined sugar and nut free, making them great for the school or kindy lunch box.
• baby (10 months +) & toddler friendly – with a soft texture that is easy to chew.
• essential fatty acids – high in healthy fats from coconut oil, sunflower seeds and pepitas (pumpkin seeds).
• quick and easy to prepare – meal prep in advance for easy snacks on busy days throughout the week.
• natural sweetness – these healthy bliss balls are made using dates to sweeten and are great as an afternoon snack or sweet treat.
• plant-based ingredients – these bliss balls are completely plant based and vegan.

Ingredients Notes & Substitutions

Find all of the simple, nutritious ingredients needed for this recipe below as well as any notes or possible substitutions. The ingredient quantities can be found in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

• sunflower seeds – if not allergic to nuts then you can use almond meal in place of sunflower seeds. Sunflower seeds are a great source of iron, magnesium, potassium, B Vitamins and Choline.
• pepitas – pepitas are an excellent source of iron, zinc and magnesium, essential minerals for immunity, energy and brain development. They are also an excellent source of plant-based protein. If you don’t have pepitas you can try making these with hemp seeds as a replacement. I haven’t tested this recipe with hemp seeds so there’s a chance it won’t work as well.
• desiccated coconut – desiccated coconut is used both in the bliss balls mixture and for rolling the bliss balls. I wouldn’t recommend using shredded coconut or coconut flakes as it just won’t stick to the bliss balls as well and if making these for a baby, shredded coconut is a bit hard for a baby to chew.
• coconut oil – I’ve used cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil. Do not use refined coconut oil for this recipe.
• medjool dates – medjool dates are fresh dates and have a lot more moisture than regular dates. Dried dates are not suitable for this recipe. Make sure to remove the seeds from the dates before using.

Optional Add In’s

• chia seeds – chia seeds are an excellent source of plant based omega 3. I would add no more than 1 tablespoon of chia seeds as they don’t really blend up in the food processor and you really don’t want a mouthful of chia seeds in every bite.
• mini chocolate chips – option to mix in 1/4 cup of mini chocolate chips for a little extra sweetness. (Not suitable for under 18 months).

How to Make Bliss Balls

Making these bliss balls is so easy and takes as little as ten minutes. First add the sunflower seeds to the food processor and blend on high, pulsing if need-be, to create a meal like texture.

Next, add the remaining ingredients including the liquified coconut oil, medjool dates (with seeds removed!), pepitas, coconut and water. Blend on high, pulsing occasionally, until is kind of like a thick sticky paste.

Take small spoonfuls of mixture (the mixture will be a little sticky but not too much) and roll into small balls. You can use a cookie scoop to get uniform sized balls if you like. The goal is to have little, bite-sized balls.

Next, roll the date balls in a bowl of desiccated coconut and place into an airtight container. Once all of the balls have been rolled, place the lid onto the container.

Storage

These balls can be frozen in an airtight container for up to 6 months. You might want to layer parchment paper between each layer of bliss balls to prevent them from sticking together. Alternatively, just make sure the balls are separated from each other when freezing and then once frozen they can all be piled into one container together.

To refrigerate, place into an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.