We have all felt the 3pm slump. It’s the afternoon, you’ve been busy all day, you’re body is lagging but it’s too early for dinner and bed. So what do you do? Instead of reaching for the candy bar or another cup of coffee, try a delicious (and sugar-free) energy ball.
At times like this, I usually start dreaming about that last cute cafe I went to. The one that had all of those ridiculously good-looking pastries, and even some goods that looked way too yummy to be healthy, even though they’re packed with superfoods. Dream no longer because here is a simple recipe to make in big batches and keep on hand all week long – just grab the ingredients on your next grocery run!
You can make these balls in batches, and simply store them in the fridge as you go. If you work in an office and your colleagues are interested, perhaps you can take it in turns to prepare them? Everyone has their own twist to add to recipes like this, so you can keep it interesting by adding seeds, or dried fruit (although watch the fruit as it is a high source of sugar in the form of fructose).
The energy balls contain protein to keep you going as well as a little hit of energy boosting superfood, maca powder. Maca is easy to find in health food stores and even some larger supermarkets. It’s a great ingredient to add to smoothies or teas if you need a little pick me up.
Nut Butter Energy Balls
Improve your energy with these easy to make, healthy (and sugar-free) protein balls. Remember, feel free to change the ingredients up according to your preferences! I added some examples for substitutes in parenthesis:)
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw cashew nuts
- ½ cup raw almonds
- 1 cup oats
- ¼ cup raw cacao powder (use baking cocoa as alternate)
- ¼ cup sesame seeds (or flax seeds)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp maca powder (an alternative could be Mesquite Powder)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch sea salt
- 2 tbsp maple syrup (or honey)
- 2/3 cups nut butter (almond, cashew, etc.)
- 2 tablespoons almond or rice milk (raw dairy milk works too)
- 1 cup dried coconut flakes, for rolling
Method:
- Process nuts and oats in a food processor until coarsely chopped. The mix should be a bit chunky, to help hold the balls together.
- Place nut and oat mixture in a large mixing bowl, add cacao, cinnamon, maca, protein powder and sea salt, stir to combine.
- Add the nut butter and maple syrup, then use your hands to incorporate the ingredients together. The mix should be quite dry.
- Gradually add in the milk and again, use your hands to work the moisture through the mixture.
- Once combined you can shape mixture into balls and roll in the coconut to finish.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge to harden up before serving.
If you don’t believe me that these balls are the bomb, just let this video prove it:)