With Valentine's Day just around the corner I've been thinking a lot about love. I am lucky enough to have a lot of love in my life.

I have an incredible family that are actually my friends too! I have incredible friends that are actually my family too! I also have a fantastic fiancé who is pretty cool I guess. ;)  

I'm so lucky and so grateful for all of the love in my life. But what I am perhaps most thankful for is... CHOCOLATE. Ok... obviously its not actually more important than friends, family and loved ones, but its definitely on my love list.

The consumption of chocolate actually stimulates the release of serotonin, so it has the power to make you happy on a bio-chemical level! Science rules! This reaction makes it a pretty reliable friend. Of course, it is important not to become emotionally attached to any food, but it is great to indulge in that feeling every now and then... especially during the season of love!!

SO! If you don't have a Valentine this year, or you just wanna share a little extra love with your partner, these Chocolate Hazelnut Bliss Balls have got you covered! They're guaranteed to make you smile and feel a little bit of that blissful loving feeling during Valentines day... and then you can proceed to burn your ex-boyfriends clothes, if thats what this holiday means to you!

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Cashew Butter

1.5 cups Hazelnuts

2 tsp Chia Seeds

3 tbsp Cacao Powder

1 tbsp Collagen Powder (optional)

1 tbsp Maple Syrup (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1) Pulse hazelnuts in blender until in coarse pieces

2) Place all ingredients in a bowl and combine well. Should create what almost feels like a cookie dough.

3) Break off pieces and roll into balls

4) Place in fridge for at least 30 mins. Enjoy! 

Continue to store them in fridge for optimal form and freshness! 

I made these Bliss Balls without any maple syrup so that they were 100% sugar free and they are still SO delicious and decadent. Really high in healthy fats, these babies will keep you full and satisfied, fuel your brain and create an anti-inflammatory effect in the body. 

The raw cacao gives it that chocolatey taste but is still closer to the whole cacao plant, which means more nutrients and enzyme intact, so it will really stimulate that serotonin PLUS you get the stimulating effect of theobromine, while enjoying the calming feeling of its high magnesium content! Also, ANTIOXIDANTS! This is why they say chocolate is a superfood people. 

I added the collagen powder because I'm all about it right now. Obviously it adds protein content but collagen also helps to build healthy hair, skin and nails. It is particularly good at helping to heal the gut and keep that lining healthy. For someone with Celiac disease, like myself, or really anyone with digestive or autoimmune issues, this can be a fantastic addition to the diet for that reason. I could go pretty far into this but I'm gonna save that for a whole separate post. I will warn though, for those of you who are vegetarian/vegan, collagen protein comes from hydrolyzed animal bone so you'll most likely want to omit this ingredient. 

Play with the recipe and make it your own! I hope you LOVE it.

Happy Valentine's Day! Remember its a day of love. We all have something and someone to love. Love life, love food and love YOUR OWN DAMN SELF cause you're pretty gosh darn fantastic. 

Cheers friends!

 If you make this recipe, don’t forget to take a pic and tag me on instagram @realistic.holistic and use #realisticholistic - show me how you’re incorporating real health into your real life!