No Bake Energy Balls With Options
Protein balls, Energy balls, Bliss Balls, Power Balls or Bites. No matter what you call them… this plant-based treat is so good and much better for you than candy or junk food when you want something sweet.
Leading an active life – one with a lot of DIY decorating – painting, ladder climbing, moving furniture, etc. involved, requires a lot of energy. That’s especially true when I hop from one project to the next during what I fondly refer to as my decorating marathons.
I am in one of these marathons right now – working on many big and small projects for my house that I will post about as I finish each one.
Since I began eating a plant-based diet a year ago, (will be posting about this next week) I have tested and tried quite a lot of recipes and food combinations to find ingredients and flavorings for meals as well as snacks that taste good to me. I now know what I like and don’t like which makes it easy to stick to eating plant based.
I shared my main plant-based sweet treat with you a few weeks ago – Sweet & Crisp Cookies. When I am craving something with chocolate, I reach for a No Bake Energy Ball. I make a batch every few weeks and freeze them so I always have one when needed.
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I first had one of these scrumptious balls filled with energy at a coffeeshop in Charlottesville, Va called Mudhouse. They call them Power Balls.
Whenever we visit our daughters that live there, I always make a trip to Mudhouse to get some to take home.
There are no cafes or coffeehouses where I live that make them so I had to figure out a way to make them myself.
I went online and did a search for recipes and have been testing them out. I found a winner, but tweak it from time to time depending on what ingredients I have on hand. As I learned, you can make Energy Balls with many different ingredients.
What I found I liked best is using mix of regular old-fashioned rolled oats and crispier Sprouted Oats by One Degree. For the sweetener, I like using date paste instead of honey.
Here is the recipe with the many ingredient options you can try, but don’t be limited by them, add whatever you like to them to create what tastes best to you.
No Bake Energy Balls With Options
Equipment
- mixing bowl
- wooden spoon
- measuring cups & spoons
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter – I like Santa Cruz dark roasted
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips – any kind you prefer
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 TBS chia seeds
- 1 tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Stir everything together until combined. Use your hands to really mix well.
- Cover the mixing bowl – I use a plate and place in the refrigerator for an hour or until the mixture can be formed into balls without falling apart.
- Scoop out enough mixture from the bowl to roll out 1-inch balls.
- To store: Refrigerate in a sealed container for up to a week or store in freezer for up to 3 months.
Notes
To Make Date Paste: Place 2 cups pitted dates in a bowl and pour 3/4 cup of boiling water over them so that they are submerged in water. Cover bowl and let soak for at least 3 hours or longer. Once softened, transfer dates and the water to a food processor and blend until smooth. Transfer the paste to a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Store in the refrigerator for up to a month or in the freezer for up to 5 months.
Nutrition
I don’t eat these every day, but as a special treat in the afternoon when I can take a break from work and relax with a cup of tea or coffee.
They are my little nuggets of indulgence. :-)
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And, if you happen to be reading this post during the Christmas holiday period, perhaps you can grab some hot buttered rum and explore my Christmas projects gallery.