Blackberry Nut Clusters

Recipe posted one year ago:  Sesame Ginger Tuna

Blackberries are in season here.  I am sure I have mentioned that they are my favorite berry.  I went to my friend Jorja’s house to pick in her backyard.  The good ones are hard to reach, so she just backed her truck up into them and we picked standing on the tailgate!   My friend Brad told me his parents had a plethora of wild blackberries on their property so off I went to pick.  Oh sure, it would be easy to buy some at the store or the local berry patch, but I think my mom is right.. they taste better when you do the labor yourself.   It is worth the dirty fingernails and scratches. (Thank you Jorja and Brad for inviting me! I owe you!)

I rinse them off and spread them onto a cookie sheet topped with parchment paper and then put into the freezer.  When they are frozen, I transfer them to freezer bags.

Mark Sisson of Mark’s Daily Apple  has a truly wonderful primal cookbook called fittingly “The Primal Blueprint Cookbook.”  I liked that one so much that I recently purchased his latest cookbook “Quick and Easy Meals.”  Delicious and quick recipes.  Recipes are simple and easy to follow and the photography is excellent.

Mark has been so kind as to mention our recipes on some of his Sunday postings called “Weekend Link Love.”   His site is a fantastic source with so many great tips on healthy living and eating.

This recipe is adapted from a recipe in “Quick and Easy Meals” called Nutty Blueberry Protein Nut Balls.  I doubled the recipe and used blackberries and cashews.  As you bite into these, you get a nutty flavor with the burst of juice from the berry! A perfect combination.  Yield is about 24, but it depends on how big you make the clusters.

Gather Up:

• 8 dates pitted
• 3 cups of nuts (I did a mixture of macadamia and roasted cashew – both unsalted)
• 4 tbsp coconut oil, melted
• 1 cup of blackberries, fresh or thawed
• 1 cup of unsweetened coconut, divided (this amount may vary)

Put the dates in the food processor and chop fine (it will usually form a ball). Break down the ball a bit and then put in the nuts and mix that all up until it is well blended. Pour in the coconut oil and blend.

Put dough into another bowl and dump in berries and 1/2
cup coconut and mix together with spoon or by hand.

Roll into balls and then roll into remaining coconut. You can eat right away or put on a cookie sheet and put in fridge for them to harden a bit. Then store in a container for a few days (I doubt they will last much longer than that!) or take some down to the gym and share with friends as I did.