Adaptogenic Bliss Balls with Maca, Ashwagandha, and Hemp
Rich, chocolatey bliss balls made with sprouted almonds and walnuts, raw cacao, hemp hearts for protein, and the adaptogens maca and ashwagandha, all rolled in shredded coconut. A grounding, nourishing snack for busy days.
Yield: 16–20 balls · Active: 15 min · Total: 45 min, including chilling · Year-round · Best eaten: mid-morning or midday
New to bliss balls? Start with my Classic Bliss Balls for how they work.
Ingredients
1 cup sprouted almonds
1 cup sprouted walnuts
⅓ cup raw cacao powder
3 tbsp hemp hearts
3 tbsp almond butter or stone-ground tahini (or natural peanut butter, with no added oil, sugar, or salt)
2 tbsp coconut butter (or coconut oil), melted
6 Medjool dates, pitted
1 tsp maca powder
1 tsp ashwagandha powder
Pinch of Baja Gold sea salt
½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut, for rolling
Method
Grind the nuts. Pulse the almonds and walnuts in a food processor to a coarse meal.
Make the dough. Add everything except the shredded coconut, and process 1–2 minutes, scraping down the sides, until it holds together.
Roll. Scoop tablespoon-sized portions, roll them into balls, and roll each one in shredded coconut.
Set. Freeze at least 30 minutes before serving.
Ways to Make It Your Own
Add reishi or chaga: ½ tsp reishi or chaga mushroom powder, for a deeper, earthy version.
Add cordyceps: ½ tsp cordyceps powder, for an energizing version, lovely before a workout.
Add pearl powder: ½ tsp pearl powder, a traditional Chinese beauty food, for a calming, skin-loving version.
Add tocos: 2 tbsp tocos (rice bran solubles), for a silky, vanilla-like flavor and creamy texture. Tocos are made from rice bran, so skip them if you avoid grains.
Add cardamom and orange: ½ tsp ground cardamom and the zest of 1 orange, to brighten the chocolate.
Fold in chopped nuts: reserve ¼ cup roasted hazelnuts or pecans, roughly chopped, and fold them in at the end, for crunchy chunks in every bite.
Hide a surprise center: tuck a dried mulberry or goldenberry inside each ball.
Roll in different coatings: cacao powder, shredded coconut, bee pollen, chopped pistachios, or cacao nibs, for a colorful platter. (Skip the bee pollen for anyone with pollen or bee allergies.)
A Note on Adaptogens
Adaptogens are herbs and mushrooms traditionally used to help the body adapt to stress. They're powerful, so a little goes a long way: each ball here has only about ¼ tsp of each. Ashwagandha isn't recommended during pregnancy or breastfeeding, or for people with some thyroid or autoimmune conditions, or those taking sedatives or thyroid medication. Reishi, cordyceps, and other mushrooms can also interact with some medications, like blood thinners. If you're pregnant, nursing, or taking any medication, check with your practitioner before adding adaptogens.
Storage
Refrigerated up to 1–2 weeks in an airtight container, or frozen up to 2 months. Let them sit 10 minutes before serving.
A note on "raw": U.S. almonds are pasteurized by law, so "raw" here means no-bake.
Nourishment Notes
Maca is a root vegetable grown high in the Peruvian Andes, where it's been eaten as a food for thousands of years. It has a malty, butterscotch-like flavor, and it's traditionally used for energy, stamina, and hormonal balance. Studies suggest it may support mood, energy, and libido.
Ashwagandha is an Ayurvedic root, used for thousands of years in India to help the body handle stress. It's been studied for supporting healthy cortisol levels, calm, and restful sleep.
Hemp hearts — complete plant protein, magnesium, and omega-3 and omega-6 fats in a balanced ratio.
Sprouted almonds and walnuts — vitamin E, magnesium, and ALA omega-3s from the walnuts. Sprouting helps reduce phytic acid, so they're easier for many people to digest.
Raw cacao — magnesium, iron, flavanols, and theobromine.
Tahini and almond butter — calcium, magnesium, and sesame lignans or vitamin E.
Coconut butter — lauric acid and fiber.
Medjool dates — potassium, magnesium, and fiber, which slows the absorption of their natural sugars.
As a circadian food, these are best mid-morning or midday, as a grounding snack on a busy day. Since they're more functional than the classic bliss balls, one or two is plenty.
For your cycle: The cacao's and hemp's magnesium make these especially supportive in the luteal phase, and maca is traditionally used to support hormonal balance throughout the cycle.
Sourcing
Sprouted almonds and walnuts — organic, from Living Tree Community (Berkeley, California), Blue Mountain Organics, or sprouted at home
Raw cacao powder — organic, and ideally tested for heavy metals, like Navitas Organics or Sunfood
Hemp hearts — organic, like Manitoba Harvest
Almond butter, tahini, or peanut butter — organic and made from just the nut or seed: stone-ground tahini, like Soom or Seed + Mill; or natural peanut butter with no added oils or sugar, like Big Spoon Roasters or Crazy Richard's
Coconut butter — organic, like Nutiva or Artisana
Medjool dates — organic, soft, and plump, like Bautista Family Organic Date Ranch or Joolies
Maca, ashwagandha, and other adaptogens — organic, third-party tested, from trusted sources like Sun Potion or Anima Mundi (quality and potency vary widely)
Shredded coconut — organic, unsweetened, and sulfite-free
Optional add-ins — organic pistachios, bee pollen, cacao nibs, dried mulberries, and goldenberries
Salt — Baja Gold sea salt
— Anna aka Food Marshall