Have you guys ever heard of power balls before?
No - not the lotto ticket kind. The edible kind. The chewy, delicious, bite-sized treat packed with amazing superfoods. It's kind of a big deal (to me). The idea of having a ready-to-go, small + bite-sized, fiber-filled, sweet + savory snack sounds like something I really need in my life right now. In this season of life - Eugene and I are a grab-and-go couple. We rarely, rarely eat a hot meal at home and we are constantly on the go. Most of the things I prepare at home immediately go into tupperware containers so that its easy to grab whatever is handy on our way out the door. If you can imagine - living 5 minutes away from Costco provides a huge temptation for me to stock up on granola bars and little snack bags that I can have handy with little to no prep time. However, I've found that most of these are packed with processed sugars, saturated fats and ingredients with really long, unfamiliar names. No bueno.
This is where "fail to plan or plan to fail" comes in.
I realized that if I'm not prepared with good, whole-food snacks on hand, we would probably eat snicker bars and rice krispies all day err' day (not that those are completely bad- they are actually quite delicious...but just not that good for you). Because Eugene is in a season in his life right now where sleep is lacking and the demand for his energy is high - I need to make sure to be filling him with good, healthy food. For the last few months I have been searching high and low for better-for-you snack recipes. These powerballs are perfect. I could't find a recipe that I liked online so I just made my own. I was able to incorporate all of our favorite "superfoods" and it came out just the way we hoped they would: soft, chewy, not-too-sweet and satisfying. Eugene actually had to poo shortly after eating a few samples. Hoooray!! Mission complete. har har harr :)
So here we go!
We need to start with the chewies. I used medjool dates. I'd forgotten how much I love, love, love dates. Reminds me of my grandma. (lol!) You can use raisins, craisins or whatever floats your boat but I think dates will do the best job!
Make sure to pit those guys or your food processor will not be happy with you.
Put your pitted dates in a bowl and add your nuts. Any kind will do. I chose almonds, walnuts and sunflower seeds. They're my faves. Next time, I will add cashews :)
Coconut flakes join the party.
I was too lazy to get out my food processor out, so I had to depend on Mr. Nutribullet.
We had to take a few breaks (it over-heated a few times) but after a few tap-taps, it did a fine job. :) You can choose to keep it a bit chunky but you want it to be soft and mushy (that's the key!!!)
Add it back into your bowl and add some chia seeds, flax seeds and hemp seeds. (All amazing superfoods that are so yummy and good for you.) I decided to add a few teaspoons of coconut oil but you can opt out of that if its not your thang. Or you can add almond butter. or a few dashes of cinnamon. Go crazy.
Mix it well with your hand. (I used a glove because of the coconut oil) Make sure is mixed well and evenly. As much as I love chia seeds, a big bite of just chia seeds is not my fave. Once it's mixed well - start rolling into bite-sized pieces.
Once they're all rolled up - you can choose to crust them in more ground flaxseed meal. The coconut oil I added made a big mess, but it really helped hold the flaxseed into a nice crust.
Just roll em with one hand. Don't stress yourself out. I actually checked emails with my left hand while doing this. Multitasking at its finest. :)
Once you're done, lay em all out on a flat surface (not touching) on a sheet of wax/parchment paper or the like. Cover it and keep it in the fridge for an hour or so to make sure the mold stays together. Of course we ate like 5 because we had to make sure they weren't poisonus!
They were delish! We are planning to eat one in the morning and one after workouts. This is packed with fiber, will help keep you full, give you a burst of energy (go, superfoods!) and curb your morning donut cravings.
Hopefully.
I guess we'll see about that since I'm doing a Dunkin' Donuts run for my co-workers tomorrow :)
Wish me luck!
Superfood Energy Powerball Recipe
Recipe Adapted from Deliciously Ella
Makes about 25-30 balls
1 cup of Medjool dates, pitted
3/4 cup of almods
3/4 cup of your favorite nuts (cashew, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds)
1/2 cup of coconut flakes
1/3 cup of group flax seed meal
1/2 cup of hemp seeds
1/2 cup of chia seeds
2 tsp of coconut oil or almond butter (optional)
Place pitted dates in a medium bowl. Add nuts and coconut flakes. Grind ingredients in a food processor until all the large pieces are ground up and mixture is soft. Place back in medium-sized bowl and add chia seeds, ground flax seed meal and hemp seeds. Add coconut oil or almond butter (optional). Mix well by hand until all seeds are evenly spread out. Roll into bite-sized balls and lay on parchment paper or the like on a flat surface. Cover and refridgerate for at least 1-2 hours. Place in a zip-lock bag or air-tight container.
Enjoy!
xoxo
xoxo
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