Energy protein balls is one of my favourite snacks which you can even have as a dessert…full of protein and good fats minus the refined sugar!
The beauty of this recipe is that you can be creative. You can do whatever mixture you would like for your energy protein balls. So you can use less dates and add instead cranberries, raisins, goji berries, sultanas. The same with nuts and seeds; there are so many choices you can have: macademia, sesame, lindseeds, hemp seeds. Just make sure you soak them first. You can even add some wheatgrass powder or chlorella if you feel brave!
A few benefits of the nuts and dried fruit I used in this recipe…
Ingredients (makes around 20 balls)
9 medjool dates (aprox 150g) – pips removed
2 fist of pecan nuts
2 fists of walnuts
1 fist of hazelnuts
1 fist cashews
Half of fist of cocoa nibs or roasted cocoa nibs
Raw cocoa powder
Grated coconut
STEP 0 – 1 NIGHT BEFORE
SOAK YOUR NUTS PLEASE! ? Nuts are a great nutritional addition to your diet but just like grains their outer skin also contains enzyme inhibitors and phytic acid (called broadly anti-nutrients) which protects them and prevents them from sprouting but also means it prevents the full digestion of the protein in them and bind to minerals like calcium, iron and magnesium and prevent them from being absorbed. Therefore, although you might eat high amounts of nuts the protein will not be properly digested and the minerals will not be absorbed.
The way around this is to soak your nuts and seeds overnight with ½ tsp of salt. This will neutralize some of the anti-nutrients.
STEP 1
Put all nuts, dates and cocoa nibs in a blender with an S blade and blitz until it forms a paste that holds its shape when pressed. This should take around 2-3 min. Ultimately, you can do it as smooth or rough as you want.
STEP 2
Wet your hands and start taking some mixture into your hands (roughly a tablespoon) a shape it into a ball. Do so until all the mixture is finished. Run your balls alternatively though cocoa powder or grated coconut.
Enjoy and let me know what you think! The energy protein balls are a perfect nutritious, fast and affordable snack!
xx
Energy Protein Balls