Almond butter energy balls

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Lately I have been trying to come up with a great power ball recipe. These Almond Butter Energy Balls have hit the mark. Let me tell you, we have been eating a lot of balls lately! 😉

What are these balls made of?

The base in this recipe is almond butter and oats. I do have a similar recipe for Peanut Butter Power Balls on my site you might enjoy. For this new recipe, instead of maple syrup or other sweetener, I used blended dates and hot water to amp up the sweetness. This makes them added sugar free technically, because dates, although very sweet, are in fact a whole food!

What makes them versatile and healthy?

These energy balls also contain only the oil occurring naturally from the almonds, not any added oils. If you are a peanut butter lover, you can swap it for the almond butter, or if you have a nut allergy in your house, there are some pretty great seed butters out there that you can use.

As an added bonus, if you need your recipes to be gluten free, just use gluten free oats.

These balls contain omega 3s.

We have recently been doing some vitamin and mineral testing at our naturopath’s office and a couple of us need to up our omega 3 levels a bit.

Some vegan foods containing omega 3s are flax seeds, hemp seeds, chia seeds and walnuts. There are ground flax seeds and hemp seeds in this recipe, and of course you could always deviate and swap sliced almonds for crushed walnuts!

Why else might you want to make these treats?

This is the season for making snacks and treats to have around the house! I took these power balls to our daughter’s “Pre-grad Mother Daughter Party” along with some Chickpea Salad Sandwiches a couple of weeks ago. It’s always nice to get compliments and to be asked for the recipes!

I’m popping in a photo of my daughter and I at the party since part of my reason to blog is so that our family can look back as see life as it unfolded over the years.

Slipping through my fingers…

Almond Butter Energy Balls

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Serves: makes 18 balls Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: no cooking involved no cooking involved

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 1 cup rolled oats (can use gluten free if desired)
• 1 cup quick oats (can use gluten free if desired)
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 1/3 cup mini dark chocolate chips
• 4 pitted dates
• 3 ounces very hot water
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 2 tablespoons hemp seeds
• 2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Put 4 pitted dates, hot water and vanilla extract into a mini blender, such as a Ninja or Magic Bullet.  Let sit to soften while you continue.
2. Place all dry ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
3. Blend date mixture until smooth.
4. Now,  add the almond butter and date mixture to the dry ingredients.  
5. Keep mixing and cutting in the almond butter with two wooden spoons until the dry and wet ingredients are well amalgamated.
6. Next, with clean, or gloved hands, make balls with the mixture.  I shaped mine around 1 1/2 inches thick and that made 18 balls.  
7. Place in a covered container.  Can be frozen for later or devoured immediately. 

 

 

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