Super Yummy No-Bake Energy Balls.
Call them 'Bliss Balls', 'Power Balls', 'Energy Balls' or just plain 'Balls'. These little gems take almost no time to make and are positively loaded with fiber, energy and protein! A perfect substitution for all of the cookies, candy and sweet treats that have been showing up all over the place!
All you need is a blender and 10 minutes (including clean up!) and you'll have a gift worthy bunch of healthy snacks.
Try making a batch with your littles - I know a young man who calls them 'cakes' and her mother and I are not about to correct him!
‘Almond Joy’ Energy Bites
Ingredients:
1 Cup Medjool dates, pitted
1 cup Almonds, soaked
2-3 Tbsp cocoa powder
1/4 Cup shredded coconut. (Unsweetened)
pinch of sea salt
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tsp coconut oil
More shredded coconut to finish.
Method:
Drain the almonds and add then to the bowl of your food processor with all of the rest of the ingredients.
Blend until the nuts are well chopped and a thick ‘dough’ starts to form. It may look grainy - that’s okay.
Remove the blade for the food processor. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball between your hands. It will help if you squeeze the mixture together tightly before rolling. (To make things less messy, coat your hands with coconut oil first. It’s good for the skin too!)
Repeat with the remaining dough.
‘Dip’ the finished balls into reserved shredded coconut.
Store balls in a sealed container for up to a month in the fridge or freeze for much longer.
Options:
Roll balls in cocoa
Roll finished balls in finely chopped peanuts or almonds.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bites
Ingredients:
1 Cup dates, pitted
1/2 cup organic peanut butter
3 Tbsp cocoa powder
shy 1 Tbsp coconut oil
Method:
Add dates, peanut butter and coco powder to the pool of your food processor and blend until dates are broken up.
Add coconut oil.
Blend until a ‘dough’ starts to form. This could take 2-5 minutes depending on the strength of your blender. I use a Ninja and it took about 2 minutes.
When ingredients are well incorporated, either switch out you blade to a dough blade or dumb out and hand mix to add in your mini chips.
With chips fully incorporated, remove the blade for the food processor. Take a tablespoon of the mixture and roll it into a ball between your hands. It may make things less messy if you coat your hands with coconut oil first. (good for the skin too!)
Repeat with the remaining dough.
Store balls in a sealed container for up to a month in the fridge or freeze for much longer.
Options:
Roll balls in cocoa
Roll finished balls in finely chopped peanuts or a peanut butter powder.
Pro Tip:
If you have the time - and are looking toe up level the healthy, do make sure you soak your nuts before you use them. There's a great little explanation here with the why's and wherefore's but soaking them in warm water and a tiny bit of salt for a few hours is real all it takes.
