Friday, January 8, 2010

Tropical Raw Donut Holes--A Tasty & Healthy Treat

I'm a "dabbler" when it comes to cooking and eating. I like to try different ingredients, ways of preparing food and food and diet philosophies. For awhile I was into learning about preparing raw foods and even bought a few books and dried some different recipes. Lately, because I have been studying them in my nutrition program, I have been incorporating more raw foods into my diet. Ultimately, although I agree with a lot of things about a raw foods diet, it isn't something I would do full time--my body craves warm food too much. I will instead just keep up with my dabbling; eating plenty of organic salads, drinking fresh fruit and veggie juices from my juicer and enjoying the occasional raw dessert.


My local co-op store has a great little deli section and I became instantly addicted to the raw "donut holes" they were selling in the grab and go section. They are made with shredded coconut, dates, dried pineapple, sea salt and vanilla--kind of like a Lara Bar in a round donut hole shape. At $3.50 or so for a container of about 5-6, I find them to be a bit spendy and thought I could figure out how to make my own at home.


In doing a little research online, it seems like the recipe probably came from raw food chef, Ani Phyo and I just happened to have a copy of the book, Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, with a version of her recipe in it. So I changed it up just a bit, including supplementing the dried pineapple with some dried mango, making these Tropical Raw Donut Holes.


Tropical Raw Donut Holes
adapted from Ani's Raw Food Kitchen, Ani Phyo
(Makes about 30+ holes depending on the size)

1 cup almonds
1/2 cup dried low-sugar pineapple, chopped
1/2 cup dried low-sugar mango, chopped
1 cup pitted dates
3/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut, separated
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
1 vanilla bean, scraped

Place almonds in a food processor and process until finely chopped. Add pineapple, mango, dates 1/2 cup of the coconut, salt and vanilla and process until mixed well.


Form into small balls and roll the holes in a bowl of the remaining 1/4 cup shredded coconut. Will keep in fridge for a week or so (if they last that long!).


Notes/Results: These turned out perfect, exactly what I wanted and exactly like the ones I was buying--they are chewy, sweet tropical bites of goodness. They are incredibly easy to make and so much cheaper than buying them at the co-op. I loved the touch of mango and would probably leave it in when making them again. A great little snack and I plan to play around with different dried fruit combinations, plus the co-op had a chocolate macaroon version that looked darn good and that I will need to try making. Whether you are into raw foods, a dabbler like me, or just love a sweet, delicious little treat that is made of natural foods and good for you ingredients, give this one a try.

Happy Aloha Friday!

22 comments:

  1. yummy! reminds me of the fruit drops I made as a child!

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a fantastic healthy on the go/on the run dessert. Id even use these as breakfast, delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yum these sound like the perfect dessert! I've always wanted to learn to make Larabars at home because I know it MUST be cheaper. Chocolate-Covered Katie has a TON of raw ball recipes with every flavoring under the planet if you're interested. I like this tropical twist though!

    ReplyDelete
  4. These seem so anti-donut to me!! But they sound amazing...I love everything in them...especially addicted to dried mango. YUM :)

    ReplyDelete
  5. I just recently discovered Larabars (the ginger is my favorite)so I am going to have to try these for myself. I mean, the food processor does all the work, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. These look really tasty! I have never tried any sort of "raw foods" type diet plan, but this recipe does appeal to me. I love the combo of ingredients.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Sounds like they are quick and easy and easily customized. I like Donna's idea of having them for breakfast. Great idea making them at home!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Deb, YUM is definitely the right word to describe these wonderful treats. I have always like doughnut nuts ~ I think it is because in one bite, you get total satisfaction.

    Thanks for the great recipe...

    ReplyDelete
  9. I'm a dabbler in raw foods too! Although you probably wouldn't be able to tell from my blog. I could never give up my warm and hearty cooked comfort food. But I love these! And I can see how versatile they might be.

    ReplyDelete
  10. We got a food processor for Christmas and I am so excited to give this a go! They sound yummy!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Oh u had me drooling at the lovely pic with a perfect contrast and the beautiful platter...loved it...

    ReplyDelete
  12. These sound wonderful. They remind me of the sugarplum recipe I got from George G. I don't care for mango, but am going to add some dried fruits and coconut to my grocery list this week and give them a go.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! Those sound fantastic and look beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Yum! Guilt free donut? I'm in!

    ReplyDelete
  15. How good do these look :-). What a perfect snack or dessert.

    ReplyDelete
  16. They do look great, and I love the presentation - like a delicious game of tic-tac-toe!
    I have dried fruits here.. likely not the low sugar, just from a bulk bin.. but I should give these a go anyway. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  17. These sound marvelous! Way to go figuring out how to make them at home!

    ReplyDelete
  18. These sound quite good and I'd like to try them. Easy, healthy and flavorful!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I'm a dabbler too. I've been learning about raw foods at a snails pace. This looks like a wonderful recipe whether you're following a raw diet or not.

    ReplyDelete
  20. I really want to try those! My office always has chocolates and cakes around, and I am really looking for a different option for when the 3pm munchies hit!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Thanks everyone! They are a really great little treat even if you are not into raw foods and so easy.

    Deborah--I put the nutritional info for the balls from Ani's cookbook on the tea post where your comment/question was. (in case you check here). ;-)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Oh my, these sound great! I'm definitely giving them a try. I'm exactly like you with the raw foods. I welcome them and see the benefit, will incorporate them, but I love warm, cooked foods as well. So glad you found a way to make these yourself and then share it with us. :)

    ReplyDelete

Mahalo for visiting and for leaving a comment. I love reading them and they mean a lot!

All advertising, spam, inappropriate (or just plain rude) comments will be promptly deleted. I do appreciate your right to free speech and to your opinion but I'm not into mean, rude, or mean snarky (non-mean snarky is just fine!) ;-)