(Family Features) Supplementing meals and snacks with powerful, versatile ingredients can take healthy eating from bland and boring to delicious and adventurous.
Take your breakfasts, appetizers, dinners, and desserts to new heights while maintaining nutrition goals with naturally nutritious and surprisingly versatile California Prunes. Rich and smooth with an ability to enhance both sweet and savory flavors, they can expand your menu with nearly endless powerful pairing options.
One serving of 4-5 prunes packs a powerful punch of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and fiber. Together, these nutrients form a web of vital functions that support overall health.
Make dessert a bit better for you but equally delectable with a vegan option like gluten-free, plant-based Prune and Almond Truffles. The soluble fiber in prunes helps lower serum cholesterol and blunt the effects of excessive sodium in the diet. Nuts like almonds provide good fats that help lower the risk for heart disease.
Find more recipe ideas at CaliforniaPrunes.org.
Prune and Almond Truffles
Recipe courtesy of Meg of “This Mess is Ours”
Prep time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24
Water
1 cup California Prunes
1 1/2 cups toasted slivered almonds, divided
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, plus additional, to taste, divided
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla paste or extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
Boil water and pour over prunes. Soak for 30 minutes; drain.
In a food processor fitted with an “S” blade, pulse 1/2 cup of toasted almonds with salt, to taste, until fine crumbs form. Transfer to a shallow bowl and set aside.
Add remaining almonds to the food processor with 1/4 teaspoon salt and cocoa powder. Pulse 30 seconds to combine. Add prunes, vanilla paste, and almond extract; process until combined. The mixture should be creamy with a slight texture from almond crumbs. Transfer prune mixture to bowl and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Once chilled, use a small cookie scoop to portion out individual truffles on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Gently roll each truffle in reserved toasted almond crumbs. Store on the parchment-lined plate in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Serve chilled.
Source: California Prunes
