Hi, Friends! St. Valentine’s Day is approaching us!
…And that means it’s time to think… Extra-Decadence! 🙂 Like… these…
Extra-Healthy Decadent Dark Chocolate Strawberry Cake Balls!
I love St. Valentine’s Day!
Everything is so pretty pink and red… So much opportunity for inspiration! And these Healthy Strawberry Chocolate Decadent Cake Balls (I promise, there’ll be something pink next time 🙂 ) …
Not only they’re bright-red (so that they look extra-nice next to the Red Roses – a Valentine’s Day staple 🙂 )… They’re also properly chocolatty – just like a Decadent Valentine’s Day Treats are supposed to be! 🙂
On top of all that they’re…
- Low-Calorie
- All-Natural (thanks to my favorite Freeze-Dried Strawberries)
- Super-Simple to prepare
- Paleo, Gluten-Free and Vegan versions included
- and… so Beautifully (and Naturally) Red! 🙂
But… before giving you the recipe 🙂 Let me spill a little bit of soul-searching on you… 🙂 (If it’s OK) 🙂
…I used to hate St. Valentine’s Day. I… DREADED it! 
Because… well… I was super-shy in school. And um… I wasn’t that big about dieting back then (my adolescent metabolism helped a bit, but… you can’t really eat three slices of cake in one day and expect seeing some toned abs in the mirror, now could you?) On top of it I’m a late bloomer who looked like she was 14 at 18 years old…
…So I was doomed to be spending my Valentine’s Day with my Cat 🙂
But not only getting in shape, finding those little tricks that overtime made my dieting easy and enjoyable (with the results showing in the mirror) and breaking through my shyness with my conscious decision to get out of my shell…
And not only now having some nice (and human) company to spend my Valentine’s Day with was what helped me change my mind about this Beautiful Holiday…
It was my realization that this holiday isn’t only about having a guy with a bouquet of flowers in hand waiting for you at the porch…
This Holiday is about LOVE!
And that applies to anyone!
And to EVERYONE!
Yes, the LOVE that we should make instead of making the war… The LOVE that you don’t even have to receive back from someone…
It’s the LOVE that you can give… And (wisdom comes with years of heartbreaks, just like to all of us, right?) this’s what the TRUE love actually is (the one without any expectations)! That LOVE is what this Holiday is all about!
Happy upcoming St. Valentine’s Day!
- 5 medium-size strawberries*
- 1 batch Healthy Strawberry Brownies* see recipe notes for the links!
- 1 oz ground freeze-dried strawberries
- Cut the ends off the strawberries and bake them at 350F for about 10-15 minutes until they're soft and begin to caramelize.
- Put the pieces of brownies and the strawberries in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is even and incorporated.
- Shape the dough into the balls and roll them in the ground freeze-dried strawberries.
*I used this recipe for the Strawberry Chocolate Brownies to make these cake balls and the puree from 5 strawberries (makes about 1/4 cup) was just enough to make the brownie crumbs sticky and shapable into the balls.
*For the Vegan Recipe you can use this same recipe, only use 2 tbsp of Flax Meal diluted in 2 tbsp of water instead of the real eggs.
*For the Gluten-Free Version just use the garbanzo bean flour instead of the whole wheat flour.
*For the Gluten-Free or Paleo Version (because my Strawberry Brownies are made with the beans and there's no way to sub them for something else in this recipe) just make the Paleo Version of this Dark Chocolate Plum Quick Bread substituting the plums for the strawberries if you like. Also because this bread isn't as pasty and fudgy as the brownies, you'll need to be using more baked strawberries to make the sticky bought. I use 6-7 medium strawberries (which lands to about 1/3 cup of strawberry puree) for this version.
Please, comment!