Mango Macadamia Bliss Balls

Have you been #52NewFood-ing? I must admit I've dropped the ball a little with our change of routine in the new year. But one thing I've been wanting to get Miss M to try for a while is nuts. We've avoided them the past few years as there's been a ban on them at her centre/s but this year it's only peanut butter that's off the menu and I would love to see her enjoy the flavour and textures that abound in the variety of nuts that are readily available these days.

One thing I thought would be a sure fire win was to mix up some bliss balls with my favourite nut - macadamia. And what better to go with it than mango? I soaked the dried mango pieces (about 300g worth) in hot water for a few minutes while I blitzed a roasted 500g pack of macadamia/cashew mix. Then added the drained mango and blitzed again. My poor blender didn't like that too much so I added some of the soaking liquid but things still didn't go to plan so I removed part of the mixture and blitzed it in batches.

Miss M helped to push the mix into a cake-pop mould and I rolled the rest by hand. Rolling the finished balls in a little desiccated coconut.

These were nice and not too sweet fresh from rolling. I think there were maybe too many cashew in the mix and a more even fruit:nut ratio would have resulted in a tastier morsel.

I sent some to school with Miss M but must admit they weren't the hit I was hoping for. Regardless I will be attempting them again at some time. Maybe when I finally invest in a food processor so my poor blender doesn't shriek at me again :-)

Details of my tools & toys can be found on this page.

~J

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was written for Loving Lunches & 52 New Foods Challenge who generously provided me with a copy of their book. All opinions expressed are my own, based on my personal experience with the product. This post may contain affiliate links.