Dried Fruit + Almonds Carob Energy Balls

Sometimes substitutions and improvisations work, and sometimes they don't.

I changed the Raisin Nut Ball recipe on page 49 of the Healthy Living Cookbook - Excellent Vegan Recipes from HerbalLegacy.com, and I wondered if I would have liked it better as it was.

Their recipe called for mixing half raisins or currants and half nuts, a mix of almonds, cashews, pecan, and walnuts. I decided to go diverse with the fruits and mixed it up with dried apples, mangos, apricots, plums and half almonds and a generous dose of carob. Since carob is naturally sweet, it made the balls too sweet for my taste.

If I were to make these again, I would substitute cacao for carob, since cacao is naturally bitter.