An updated version of an old family favourite, these tasty treats are made with whole food ingredients. Like all sweet treats, they should be eaten occasionally, not every day. No cooking required. 

Ingredients:
(Makes about 30)
100g coconut oil (original version used softened butter)
3 TBSP honey
2 TBSP carob powder
1-2 cups dried fruit (3/4 cup dates plus 3/4 cup sultanas is very nice!)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats (the chopped kind, but since they are being processed anyway, you could use wholegrain if you wish)
1 cup dessicated coconut, plus extra for rolling in 
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Method:
Place rolled oats in a food processor and whiz until well chopped. Tip into a bowl. Place carob, coconut oil and honey in processor and whiz until smooth. Add all other ingredients and whiz until well blended. 

Take small spoonfuls of mixture, roll into balls, and roll in extra coconut. Place on a tray and refridgerate. Once firm, transfer to airtight container and keep refridgerated. 

Note: the orginal version was done without a food processor, melting the first three ingredients in a pot, adding everything else plus some milk and stirring them making the balls. Do-able, but they were always very hard to get to stick together. This new version works way better - easy and tastes great!

I like easy, wholesome food, and I love minimising the mess and dishes! Tonight I cooked chicken thighs, roasted veges, and zucchini - and it was all done simulatenously in one roasting dish! The only other dishes incurred were the peeler, knife, chopping board and tongs. And only a few minutes prep time is needed. 

Method:
1) Preheat oven to 180C/350F
2) Peel and cut up kumara, onions, garlic (and/or any other desired veges suitable for roasting)
3) Place the prepared vegetables in one half of the roasting dish, drizzle with olive oil and toss to coat. 
4) Place thawed chicken pieces in the other half of the roasting dish. 
5) Lightly salt chicken and vegetables. 
6) Bake for 30 mins, then turn chicken and veges over, and bake another 10 mins
7) Meanwhile, slice zucchini evenly. Removing dish from oven, pile up the vegetables at one end. Spread the zucchini slices into the middle of the dish, as close to a single layer as possible. 
8) Bake for another 15-20 mins, turning zucchini slices after 10 mins.
9) Remove from the oven and serve. 

Sooooo yummy! The juices from the chicken give everything else a wonderful flavour!

​For variations to cook for a big family, see below...

I've used a small roasting dish here - since most of my kids have left home, I'm preparing much smaller quantities of food than I used to. If I were doing this for a crowd, I'd have to make some adjustments - in that case I would prepare veges for roasting, spreading them out in the roasting dish which they would no doubt fill. I would then put an old cake cooling rack on top of the roasting dish, and put the chicken pieces onto that. This would allow them to cook at the same time as the veges, and the juices from the chicken would drip onto the vegetables, giving them a beautiful flavour. Cooking time would be about the same, with turning half way through. I'd prepare greens separately, or I'd put whole small zucchini into the roasting dish with the other vegetables about 15 mins into the initial cooking time and just roast them with everything else. And yes, I have done it via this alternative method a number of times - works great!