With your first bite you realize they're yummy, dessert-like, definitely with chocolate, satisfyingly small, smooth yet a bit gritty, and punctuated with coconut shavings.  You'd think they're a calorie-laden, transfat-containing, palm-oil saturated dessert nugget, but they're not.  They're Vitality Truffles or you can call them Vitality Bites, or just Vital Bites.  

The Ceres Project, the non-profit organization that brings teens to the kitchen to prepare nutritious and love-infused meals for families with health challenges, has a cookbook   On Page 187, you'll find a recipe for these delectable nuggets, Vitality Truffles.  Looking at the ingredients list, you'd be surprised to find crazy sounding ingredients like eleuthero powder, Gourmet Mushroom's Tri-Mycogen mushroom powder, schisandra, licorice, slippery elm, and ashwaganda powder.  What?  What are those ingredients doing in my dessert bomb?

These Vital Bites (let's call them that), contain what's traditionally considered a therapeutic dose of adaptogen herbs.  These herbs, according to the cookbook, "are considered tonics and have been used for centuries in both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine to enhance vitality and well-being."  Adaptogens, according to modern herbalists, are a class of herbs that provide a system-wide resistance to a broad range of factors.  They have a balancing effect on the body and enhance our capacity to manage our emotional, physical and environmental stress.  

Ayurvedic doctor, John Douillard, says "adaptogens" are a special class of herbs which help the body cope with stress without stimulating or sedating the body.  Adaptogens are considered herbs that can offer both energy in the morning, but allow you to sleep better at night. Call it rejuvenation, these herbs can help us deal with stressful situations and compromised immunity.  

A bit smaller than a ping-pong ball, these Vital Bites are actually nuggets of stress-relief.  The Ceres Project's recipe suggests eating one a day.  You'll have to restrain yourself from eating more, really.  It couldn't be easier to get your daily dose of goodness.  I know you're wondering, how do I get a hold of these tasty-little goodies?  You can make them.  I did. The recipe is in Nourishing Connection by Cathryn Couch and JoEllen DeNicola (via Amazon)(1). If you want a scanned copy of the recipe from the book, email me here.  Yes, you'll have to look around for these herbs. Fortunately, I have an herb store in town and they're easy to get, although not inexpensive. You can buy them at The Ceres Project's office or if you want some, but don't have the time or inclination to make them, you can ask me and I'll make you some.  Really, I will.  You may have questions. I know I did the first time I made them.  Ask, I'll try to help.