I was sitting at a neighborhood block party across from a tatted dude who was munching on one of my balls.  He was really enjoying it so I decided that was a good time to tell him that the dessert I brought was raw, vegan, and Paleo.  "Really," he said, his mouth full of sweet, salty goodness, "I thought it was cookie dough!"  No, I don't follow any of those eating regimens.  I just know a good recipe when I find one.  And this one is so good!  I've had a lot of social gatherings lately where I either wanted to share love through food or was tasked with bringing a dessert.  Either way, these balls, nicknamed Debs by my cousin (date energy balls) deliver!  They are immensely satisfying, especially for your sweet tooth despite having no added sugar.  It's a treat you can feel good about eating and giving to your kids and sharing with your friends!  And dear goodness are they easy to make.  Do I hear a hallelujah?!

So there are lots of recipes on the web for date balls and such.  However, some were too salty.  Others had way too much coconut oil in them (my hands were very soft after rolling those).  This recipe represents my happy medium.  It has enough salt to create the cookie dough effect without making you desert thirsty.  There's enough coconut oil to bind them together without creating a mess or an unpleasant mouthfeel.  

Just know there are some variations and is some room to play here and have fun.  You could roll them in cacao.  You could embed a high quality very dark chocolate chip in the middle as a delicious (and full of antioxidants) surprise.  You could coat them in unsweetened toasted coconut.  

Little Debs
Makes 24-27 balls of goodness

2 cups whole Medjool dates, not pitted (available at Trader Joe's and sometimes Costco)
2 cups pecan pieces (or almonds or walnuts)
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut (you can find an organic version at Trader Joe's)
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons organic virgin coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (check the label to make sure it's gluten free)
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Equipment:  7-cup capacity or larger food processor, baking sheet (that you can put in the freezer)

This is where I tell you to measure the whole dates in a two cup liquid measuring cup (like this one).  Normally, you would never measure a dry ingredient in a liquid cup, but in this case it led to the best outcome in recipe testing.  It can be slightly above the 2-cup line.  Then pit the dates and remove the small disk at the top of the date that is not good eats.   Set aside.

Fit your food processor with the S-blade.  Add the pecans and coconut to the food processor.  Pulse in 10 second bursts until they are fine crumbs but not nut butter.  Add the remaining ingredients and process until a sticky dough forms. Transfer the dough into a bowl as it's easier to work from a bowl than the food processor itself.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Using a tablespoon, place a heaping scoop of dough in your hand.  Roll into a ball and place on the baking sheet.  Repeat until you have used all the dough.  You'll have five rows of five balls or six rows of four balls, etc.

If you are going to coat the balls in cacao or coconut, do that now before the next step.​

Create a flat space in your freezer, and freeze the balls for one hour.  From here, I like to put the balls in candy wrappers, and store either in the refrigerator or in the freezer.   They'll keep in the fridge for up to one week or in your freezer for one month.  

Nutritional awesomeness:  ​Dates are loaded with anti-oxidants and other good for you vitamins and minerals, are considered low glycemic, and have a reputation for being the Viagra of Saudi Arabia (ahem and bada bing bada boom!).  If you want more information about the health benefits of dates, check out this article, and this one, and also this one.  Coconut is an excellent source of manganese.  Coconut oil is anti-viral and raises your good cholesterol (HDL).  However, use in moderation because it can also raise your bad cholesterol (LDL).  

I've been doing something for a while now that many of you would consider taboo for a health coach:  I've been eating a piece of chocolate as a delightful little breakfast dessert.  It started one morning as a craving and then snowballed into a habit.  It's not much, just a half an ounce or so.  It's always good quality dark, as shown here.  At first, I felt like a bit of a fraud.  What health coach, especially one that teaches about the pitfalls of sugar addiction, has chocolate for breakfast?  

However, I began to notice I was actually enjoying some benefits to this supposed bad habit, benefits which warranted a deeper look into whether chocolate could indeed be part of a healthy breakfast.  Benefits that begged to be shared with you!

​Benefit #1:  Satisfied until lunchtime!  The first benefit I noticed is that I had energy and was completely satiated until lunchtime.  It turns out that in a study of dark chocolate versus milk chocolate, "The participants felt more satiated, less hungry, and had lower ratings of prospective food consumption after consumption of the dark chocolate than after the milk chocolate." (Source).  In other words, you are more likely to feel hungry and eat again sooner after milk chocolate than dark chocolate.  Chocolate Action: Give yourself the best dark chocolate you can afford.  Look for at least 70% cacao content.  You deserve it!

Benefit #2:  Better sleep.  Even before starting my chocolate-is-breakfast-food habit, I noticed that what time of day I consumed chocolate was deeply important.  If I ate chocolate after about 2:00 p.m., inevitably I would have trouble falling asleep and staying asleep.  Why?  Caffeine has a half life of six hours.  That means that half of the caffeine you consumed is still in your system six hours after you have ingested it.  Caffeine blocks adenosine, the natural chemical which is necessary to slow down cell functioning for sleep.  If you ate some chocolate or drank coffee, tea, or caffeinated soda in the late afternoon, much of that caffeine is still in your system about the time you want to go to bed.  By switching the time of day in which I consumed chocolate to morning I no longer had to contend with unwanted caffeine in my system interrupting my sleep at night.  Chocolate Action: Improve your sleep by eating a little high quality dark chocolate in the morning instead of the afternoon or evening.

As an aside, if you are curious about how much caffeine is in coffee, tea and other sources, check out this handy guide from The Mayo Clinic.

Benefit #3:  Enhanced powers of concentration and focus.  This benefit surprised me...a lot.  I noticed that when I consumed a little dark chocolate as breakfast dessert, not only was I satisfied until lunchtime and slept better, but my brain received a cognitive boost.  As it happens, a study from Northern Arizona University published in 2015 found that, "That the brain was more alert and attentive after consumption (of dark chocolate)."  Chocolate Action: Support your brain function with a little dark chocolate in the morning!

So the answer to the question, "Is Chocolate Part of a Healthy Breakfast?" is YES!  as long as it is dark chocolate, think 70% cacao or more,  and just a little, an ounce or so.
​
Now tell me, have you had your dark chocolate today?

For even more information about the benefits of dark chocolate, check out this article.

I am excited to announce I am once again teaching group yoga classes!  After a two year hiatus from teaching, I will be guiding the Beginning Yoga class on Wednesday nights at the Conejo Valley Adult School.  I am thrilled for many reasons, including  I love teaching beginners and introducing them to the practice of yoga.  

This class is for all levels.  It will incorporate principles of yoga in physical movements and breathing exercises so you leave class feeling uplifted and ready for a good night's sleep!  Plus, I'll give you practical ways to take your yoga practice off your mat and into your daily life to reduce your stress.

If you live in Ventura County, come join me!  I'd love to have you in class.  Here are all the details you need:

Beginning Yoga class with Molly Duncan (that's me!)
Wednesday evenings from 7:30 p.m. to 8:25 p.m., beginning May 11, 2016 and ending July 13, 2016
Conejo Valley Adult School, 1025 Old Farm Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91360 (map posted below)
To Register, click here!  Note:  You'll need to scroll down to the middle of the page where Beginning Yoga is listed to access the registration link.  

Are you having fun these days?  Not fun so you can post it on Facebook.  Not fun by creating memories for your kids and sacrificing your own definition of fun?  I mean something fun for you that feeds your soul and makes you feel good.  

One common theme among my clients is the lack of fun in their lives.  For some, it's been so long since they had fun, they can hardly remember what they like to do for fun.  In the quest to be super parents, amazing workers, champions of busyness, fun got lost.  Yet, having fun is good for your health.  Can you see why I love my job as a health coach?  I have the privilege of encouraging and supporting people to go have fun, and then I hold them accountable for it.  I don't tell people to become vegan.  I tell them to go have more fun!

Like you, I am not always on top of prioritizing fun.  When I don't, some things I value deeply, like my marriage and my friendships, suffer.   It is often the first thing to go when we are not feeling well, stressed, or find ourselves in challenging situations.  When I was in a fun slump, my fellow coach, Cristina Logtenberg, suggested we go play mini golf, a sport I had not attempted since I was a kid.  It was so much fun to be in the middle of the inevitable kitsch that is a mini golf course, trying to hit the ball into the mouth of a dragon or through the gates of a castle, and feeling euphoric nailing a hole-in-one.

Seriously, though, fun is good for your health.  Usually, having fun involves socializing.  Spending quality time with other people who make us feel safe and loved boosts our immune system (source, p. 116).  Sometimes fun involves meeting a challenge like a long bike ride or a steep hike.  In those cases, attempting and succeeding at a challenge we enjoy releases the feel good hormone oxytocin which lowers our blood pressure and, again, strengthens our immune system (source).  Fun is a good way to ensure that you are getting enough self-care, such as a massage or a pedicure.  If you are an emotional eater like me, having fun is a great way to shift away from emotional eating.  Feel like eating a whole bag of chocolate chips?  Go for a walk instead or call a friend.   Sarah Jenks, a coach who focuses on emotional eating and fun as the antidote, has a great article on this topic in The Huffington Post worth checking out.  

How can you create more fun in your life?  Schedule it!  Call a friend for coffee.  Tell the family that this weekend you'll be having a picnic on the beach (instead of navigating the madness that is Costco on a Saturday).  Email the girls for an outing.  Make it a priority!  Send calendar reminders to yourself that say, "You deserve to have fun!"  Finally, drop the shoulds.  The shoulds is a terrible syndrome that draws you away from what you actually consider fun into the black hole of social media and what others think is fun.  What do you like to do for fun?  Once you know the answer, go do it!  Your health depends on it!