I made energy balls for the first time, a month ago due to a request from my brother. He wanted a healthy snack that was portable, delicious and easy for him to recreate. I was more than happy to oblige, as I’d never made energy balls myself before but I do buy them all the time.
If you are not familiar with this snack, they are just literally balls of goodness (at least my version is) with a sweet nutrient packed base of dates, nut flours, chai seeds and peanut butter. Together, these make for a delightful refined sugar free treat that is packed with fiber, protein and healthy fats, which aids brain and body function. The coffee, cinnamon and sea salt also add a delicious kick to the chocolatey cacao making these quite rich and irresistible.
It’s raw, vegan, gluten free with a single ball packing enough punch to curb your sweet cravings and power you through the afternoon energy slump. It is also a great pre-workout for slow releasing energy that’ll keep you strong and pushing.
The biggest plus? If my brother can make it, so can you. It comes together in no time and will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days, but trust me, they won’t last that long.
Easiest Method
Whack all the ingredients in your food processor and pulse until all the ingredients come together.
Easier Method
My food processor is currently under maintenance, so I decided to get my hands dirty for this one, using ready-made date paste, a great discovery at my local grocery store. It’s a perfect base for healthy and raw desserts and it is also inexpensive compared to whole dates. If you can’t find this, you’ll need to soak some dates overnight to soften, then blend to a paste.
After that, it is a matter of massaging all the ingredients into the date paste till you have an even mixture. Use your hands, its more effective and more fun! If you have kids, they’ll love it.
Once its combined, split the portions and roll into equal sized balls, this recipe makes about a dozen balls.
P.s It’s more fun with toppings! Use whatever you have on hand, I went for some coconut flakes, matcha powder, sesame seeds, and cacao powder.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of date paste (dates, blended up into paste)
- 2 tbsp. Almond meal
- 2 tbsp. Oat flour
- 2 tbsp. Cashew flour
- 2 tbsp. Chia seeds
- 1 tbsp. Cacao powder
- 2 tbsp. smooth peanut butter (melted)
- 1 tsp. ground coffee
- ½ tsp. sea salt
- 1 tsp. Vanilla powder, optional
- 1 tsp. Cinnamon, optional