Nutritious and Delicious Energy Balls
These little balls of goodness are a fantastic snack or as little sweet treat when the mood takes you. They take a little bit of preparation but if you can freeze them and just take out one or two when you fancy, they will last a few weeks! I hide these in the back of the freezer to avoid them being devoured by lurking kids and teenagers!! Freeze them on a flat baking sheet then pop them into a container once they are solid. Remove and leave to soften for a few minutes before eating or just nibble on them frozen!
INGREDIENTS
This is a rough recipe. You can really add or take away things as you please – just make sure that the consistency is right to allow them to stick together.
400g dates (roughly chopped or soaked for a few minutes in 2tbsp of boiling water)
2 tbsp cacao powder (add more/less depending on your taste)
2 tbsp coconut oil
2 tbsp almond butter
200g almonds/hazelnuts/pecan/mixed nuts (use food processer to grind these)
Pinch of salt
desiccated coconut for coating
Other items that you can add/switch in: oats, ground flax/chia seeds, other types of nut butter, chopped dried fruits, grated carrot, spices
METHOD
Grind your nuts of choice in a food processor
Add the dates and coconut oil and pulse until these are nicely mixed together
Add in the cacao, nut butter and pinch of salt and mix again
Put on a podcast and just enjoy the next stages!
Take out one heaped teaspoon of mixture and roll into a ball
Roll the ball in desiccated coconut (this is optional but makes them look nice!) and lay on a tray
Repeat until you have a nice big batch made then freeze or leave in fridge as you prefer
Enjoy!
HEALTH BENEFITS:
Good fats to help balance your blood sugar, fibre and other nutrients from the dates, iron and magnesium from the cacao as well as antioxidant properties, fibre and nutrients from the nuts, omega 3 if you add chia/flax seeds and happiness when you eat!