This year our Diwali festivities is a bit low key as we are heading to India the day after Diwali. There is a lot of prep needed to get the house in order as we are going to be away for a few days and not to mention all the COVID related travel requirements of testing, uploading on to the app vaccine, I’m not looking forward to masking for over 30 hours start to finish. But I’m excited for my nephew’s wedding which has been delayed by over a year and to meet my parents who I saw right before lockdown.
Over the years of traveling on long distance flights around the world I have a list of pre travel ritually I like to follow specially on long distance travel which include specific nutrition, workouts, prebiotic, fiber rich meal, hydration, skincare, yes I’m one of those people, but it has made my travel so comfortable and I come on the other side with practically no or little jet lag. I will do a travel essential blog post another time. Until then enjoy this no cook snack plate for Diwali or any festive occasion or even a simple movie or game night.
- Tahini Cacao Laddu (Truffles)
- 10-12 soft Mejdool dates, pitted, number of dates depends on sweetness desired and softness
- 4-5 heaped tablespoons smooth tahini
- ½ cup rolled oats, slightly toasted
- 2-3 tablespoons caçao powder
- 1 pinch sea salt
- Garnish to Roll
- 4 tablespoons finely chopped hazelnuts+sesame seeds mixed
- Dried raspberries or strawberries ground to dust ( I got it at Trader Joes)
- Cacao powder
- Snack Plate Add Ons
- 3 Persian cucumbers or peeled carrots cut into batons
- 2 apples, sliced
- 1 large pomegranate, seeded
- handful of baby kiwi or 2 regular, halved
- A handful mixed nuts of your choice
- 3 oz dark chocolate, broken into large bits
- Tahini Truffles (see recipe above)
Add the ingredients to a food processor and mix until everything comes together into a sticky dough. Roll 20-25 small balls between the palms of your hand. You may need to grease it with little oil. Roll them in chopped hazelnuts-sesame seed mix or berry dust and/or cacao. These truffles are just as good without the garnish so don’t go looking for them. Store in the fridge for longer shelf life. Prepare the other snack ingredients and neatly arrange on a cute platter.
The idea of this snack plate is to mix and match some healthy elements, some sweet some savory. Fruit and veggies on the platter are simply suggestions, use whats in season and available in your area. We kept some festive elements like these Indian Til ke laddu tahini truffles along with a mix of cucumber sticks, sweet pomegranate, crispy apple, toasted nuts, dark chocolate and baby kiwis that I found in Trader Joes today. Happy Diwali and be safe. Enjoy!
Leave a Reply