Staying nourished in the days and weeks after the birth of your baby can be a challenge. We aren’t all in a position to have someone around for those first 40-60 days cooking for us and taking care of our needs as we take care of babies needs. I'm careful not to use the word luxury there as I don’t actually believe postpartum care should be considered a luxury, though it often is.
To speak to the title question, Bliss balls aren’t the answer to everything (though some days it does feel like it!!) but they can be a great boost during the postpartum period when hunger strikes and you need something quick. Get someone to make up a batch (or two) for you and they keep beautifully in the fridge or freezer. These ones contain collagen, ghee and dates - all great foods for the fourth trimester and beyond.
Let’s not kid ourselves. These goodies are a lovely treat for anyone! and recipes can so easily be adapted to allow for dietary requirements and personal preferences.
Chocolate bliss balls tend to win the day in this household. What are your favourite flavour combinations? This is a rough recipe for my current favourite:
Blissful Bliss Balls
- 2 cups of nuts, ideally activated (I tend to use a mix of cashew and almonds)
- 1/2 cup of cacao powder (a cacao/carob mix also works well)
- 1/2 to 1 cup cacao nibs
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 to 2 cups of pitted dates (depending on sweetness required)
- A generous 1/3 cup ghee or coconut oil (or a mix of both)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1tbsp raw honey (optional)
- Up to 1/4 cup collagen (optional)
- Extra Cacao powder or desiccated coconut to coat.
Blend the nuts in a food processor until reasonably fine. They don’t have to be flour like depending on the consistency of bliss balls you like. Put the ground nuts aside.
Blend the ghee or coconut oil, honey, vanilla and dates until they are combined and starting to form a paste. Small chunks of date are absolutely fine.
Combine the paste with the other ingredients. You can do this in the food processor but if you do this I recommend stirring through the cacao nibs at the end so you still get that lovely crunch from them. Otherwise you can just stir all ingredients together in a bowl or use the stir function on your food processor if it has one. I tend to do it all in my Thermomix as I like to create as little washing up as possible. I am not advanced enough with my practice of mindfulness to agree with Thich Nhat Hanh’s assertion that ‘the idea that doing dishes is unpleasant can occur only when you aren’t doing them’. I’d still much prefer not to do them! (for the record I do love the teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh. I just haven’t yet been able to agree with his suggestion that “The dishes themselves and the fact that I am here washing them are miracles!” Maybe one day.)
I digress! Once the ingredients are combined and the mixture is holding together scoop out small amounts and roll in to balls. If the mixture is too crumbly you can add a little more ghee or coconut oil. Once rolled you can dust in a little extra cacao powder or in desiccated coconut as shown in my photo.
These beauties can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge (or freezer) for around 2 months but they never last that long in my house.
In terms of ingredients I urge you not to feel constricted by the ingredients I list. Bliss balls are fairly forgiving, which is probably why I like them so much. I’m not very good at sticking to recipes and don’t always have all ingredients in the pantry so instead I tweak recipes and try new things out. The only real guide is to keep the balance between dry ingredients and those that bind (dates and ghee/coconut oil). Feel free to play with the recipe, add or remove as you wish. Maybe find a few combinations you love before baby arrives, then give the recipes out to friends and relatives so they can keep your supplies stocked up whilst you are enjoying a blissful postpartum.
I hadn’t envisaged my second blog would be a recipe, though it would probably come as no surprise to those that know and love me. I do love food. I love eating food. I love making food. I love sharing food. Good food. Real food. Food that nourishes, heals and fuels us and allows us to be the best we can be…but maybe that’s a blog for another day. I’d love to hear about your favourite bliss ball flavour combinations in the comments below.
I hope you enjoy this offering.
Until next time…
I’m Anne, Mum of two, Postpartum Doula and Yoga Teacher specialising in Pregnancy and Postpartum Yoga. I run Postpartum Preparation Workshops and Yoga Classes on the Sunshine Coast alongside In-home Postpartum Support and Yoga for new mothers who don’t want to settle with exhaustion and overwhelm being their introduction to motherhood. You can enquire about or book my services by e-mailing anne@blissfulmothers.com.au or click here: