When life gives me lemons, I make lemon coconut balls!
With an overabundance of lemons in my fridge recently, and a craving for something refreshing and slightly sweet, my lightbulb went off.
This is my favorite kind of cooking situation; give me random ingredients leftover or in excess, and let my creativity go to work on something totally original!
Loaded with vitamin C but not with carbs, lemons are super cleansing for the liver.
Plus, despite having an acidic pH itself, when consumed, lemons are very alkalizing for the blood (Mateljan, 432). And our bodies like to be in a slightly alkaline state (7.35!), so with all the acidic foods out there (think processed foods, grain, protein, dairy), we need as much help as we can get.
So, let’s get to my first sweet treat concoction below! Enjoy with your morning coffee, or pair it with coffee or tea in the afternoon and enjoy with a friend for a totally European snack experience.
Zesty Lemon Coconut Balls
*Makes 12
Ingredients
Rind of 1 lemon (Pesticide alert! Choose organic!)
Juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp vanilla
1/4 c butter
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp stevia (like this)
1/4 c honey
1/3 coconut flour (like this)
1/3 c almond flour (like this)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c unsweetened coconut flakes (like this – may need more depending on batter volume)
Instructions
Set oven to 375 degrees. Grate the lemon rind, and then juice the remaining lemon. Add to a large mixing bowl, along with the remaining liquid ingredients. Mix in the flour, baking soda and salt. Take a heaping spoonful of mixture and work into a ball shape, rolling in unsweetened coconut flakes to finish. Repeat until mixture is used up, and then bake on parchment paper for 20ish minutes, or until coconut flakes start to brown.
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References
Mateljan, George. The World’s Healthiest Foods. George Mateljan Foundation: Seattle, WA, 2007.