What do you make for your gorgeous nephew’s birthday when he’s turning 17, goes to the gym ALL the time and his mum isn’t eating sugar throughout the whole of January? (I know- I think she’s mad too!) It has to be a healthy, protein-filled treat right?
That’s where the idea came from for these little treats. I wanted to make protein balls but I don’t really like the idea of putting protein powders into my recipes (I also didn’t have any!) so I switched from protein to energy. To be honest I think with the amount of nuts and seeds in each of these three energy ball recipes you could easily call them a high-protein snack anyway.
I wanted them to feel like a special treat so I bought these cute sweetie boxes. I then cut up small squares of baking paper and placed each energy ball inside one section of the box. They look cute don’t they?
Peanut Energy Ball Recipe
Out of all three of these energy balls, THESE are my faves. I couldn’t leave them alone. They may be small and they may be healthy, but they are bursting with full-fat nuts so I tried really hard not to eat every single one that didn’t make it into the gift box. I even told Darcey to eat some. I failed. They were all gone by the following day!
Peanut Energy Ball Recipe
Notes
These energy balls last 3-5 days and can be stored in an air tight container on the work top or in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 75g Rolled Oats
- 20g Pumpkin Seeds
- 2tbsp Honey (or Maple Syrup)
- 85g Peanut Butter
- 20g Dark Chocolate
Instructions
- Set the chocolate to one side and place all the other ingredients in a bowl and stir until really well blended.
- Use two tea spoons to collect around 15g of mixture and roll into a ball in the palms of your hands.
- Place on baking paper.
- Melt the chocolate slowly in a bowl in the microwave. Heat in 30 second bursts, stir and repeat as necessary
- Place melted chocolate in a small piping bag and snip off the end.
- Pipe lines of chocolate across the top of each ball and leave to set.
- Once set place on a plate.
Date, Nut and Seed Energy Ball Recipe
I LOVE dates. In fact when I’m trying to be healthy I have one medjol date with my evening cuppa. These were some that were less than squidgy so I soaked them without the stones and they made the perfect base for these treats.
These ones do tend to stay a little soft so avoid handling them too much. I used my toast tongs and that worked well.
Date, Nut and Seed Energy Ball Treats
Notes
These energy balls stay quite soft so avoid handling them too much. Use plastic or silicon tongs to pick them up when placing in a gift box or on a plate to serve.
Ingredients
- 100g Medjol Dates – soaked for 30 minutes in boiled water
- 15g Toasted Cashews
- 15g walnuts
- 10g Chia Seeds
- 20g Sesame seeds
- 50g Ground Almonds
Instructions
- Place the soaked dates in a food blender. You can push them through a sieve if you don’t have a blender. Pulse until you have a paste
- In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients with the date paste until it becomes a dough.
- If you need to toast the cashews – chop them up into small pieces and place them on baking paper on a baking tray in the centre of the oven at 180℃ for 5-10 minutes. Leave to cool before adding to the mix.
- Use tea spoons to scoop out around 15g of dough and roll into balls in the palms of your hands.
- Place on baking paper to firm up.
- Enjoy.
Coconut and Apricot Energy Balls
With these energy balls, I had my ‘almost’ vegan daughter in mind. She loves a coconut treat – you kinda have to if you’re vegan, and I love the texture of coconut. We also had a handful of dried apricots lying around so I made up this recipe with what I had knocking around in the cupboard. You know the kind of thing- tupperware pots with chopped nuts, half a packet of seeds with an elastic band around them. They really look like truffles with the coconut coating don’t you think?
Of all three of these energy balls these are the fruitiest. They’re a perfect pick-me-up to replace chocolate and feel like you’re looking after yourself – especially at 4pm when you’re craving chocolate.
Coconut and apricot Energy Ball Recipe
Notes
These energy balls are good for 3-5 days in an air tight container kept on the kitchen worktop or in the fridge.
Ingredients
- 100g Dried Apricots – soaked for 30 minutes in boiled water
- 60g Desiccated coconut + extra for rolling
- 20g Ground Almonds
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 15g Chia Seeds
- 10g Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- Chop up the apricots so they are small pieces. They should be soft and squishy.
- Add all the ingredients to a bowl and stir until well combined.
- In a separate bowl add more desiccated coconut
- Use two tea spoons to scoop out around 15g of mixture and roll into balls in the palm of your hands.
- Roll each ball in the coconut till it is loosely covered
- Set to one side till ready to serve
My nephew is a pretty chilled kinda guy. He never complains – ever! He’ll always step up when asked and he lets his aunty hug him – even though he’s now 17 and probably hates it. He knows I love him to pieces so he even lets me give him a kiss. But the smile on his face when I gave him these really made me see that he knows just how much I love him.
Happy Birthday Ash Man. I really do love you like you’re mine. xxx
You can see other cakes I’ve made for Asher over the years here
Spy Cake for Agent Asher
How To Make A Pirate Ship Birthday Cake
5 things I learnt making a Lego man birthday cake
How To Make A Rock Climbing Birthday Cake
