Protein Packed Energy Balls | Kid Friendly | No Bake
Energy balls are packed with super healthy ingredients. They are easy to make and are irresistibly delicious. If I may say.. Addictive!
Guys! You have got to try these energy balls for yourself and your child. It’s my all time favourite on this blog and the ones I have made like billions of times. It is mine and my child’s go to snack. Before leaving for school early morning I give him 1 energy ball with a glass of milk. This keeps him full for couple of hours.
I have one or two energy balls as my pre workout snack or goes great with my evening cup of coffee. It keeps me full till dinner.
Why I love Making These
I love these little energy bites because they are easy to make with simply pantry ingredients that I almost always have on hand. They are super easy to mix up and roll into cute little energy balls. You can also press the mixture into a parchment paper rectangular dish and cut them into energy bars.
Ingredients Required And Their Benefits
- Nut Butter: Nut butter are not only great source of protein but are also loaded with heart-healthy monounsaturated fats. These fats help increase HDL cholesterol—the good kind—while keeping LDL cholesterol—the bad kind—in check. I used homemade Almond Butter. You can make these with any nut butter of choice, cashew, peanut etc. You can check out Homemade Peanut Butter recipe here.
- Roasted Seeds: I used a mix of flaxseeds, chia seeds, sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds. All these seeds are an excellent source of essential fatty acids which are important for your brain health. They are rich nutrients like Omega 3 and 6, mono-saturated fats, fiber, protein, fiber, manganese and magnesium. These roasted seeds supports cardiovascular health by helping to lower cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation, and promote healthy blood pressure.
- Old fashioned Oats or Rolled Oats: There are many science-backed health benefits of oatmeal. Oatmeal contains high level of antioxidants and protein. Just 1/2 cup of oatmeal can give you 5 grams of quality protein. It also helps to promote healthy bacteria in the digestive tract and reduce bad cholesterol.
- Dates: Including dates in your daily routine has numerous health benefits. They are packed with essential vitamins and minerals, including potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and fiber. One of the most notable benefits of consuming dates daily is their ability to promote digestive health. They are a natural laxative which prevents or gives relief from constipation. Also dates contains natural sugar. It makes them an excellent source of quick and sustained energy which children need.
- Cacao Powder: Cacao is typically found in powder form and is made by processing the cacao bean. It contains flavonoids which helps to fight the formation of health-harming ‘free radicals’. Cacao also plays a role in fighting the inflammation caused by free-radical damage. Studies have shown that flavonoids present in cacao reduces bad cholesterol. Furthermore, consumption of cacao also triggers the release of the dopamine (another happy hormone). It also contains essential micronutrients- magnesium, potassium and calcium which helps in muscle stimulation.
Difference Between Cacao And Cocoa Powder
Cacao powder is the raw, unprocessed form of cocoa powder. Processing cacao into a powder form requires some heat processing whereas cocoa is typically processed at a much higher temperature than cacao, which provides additional sweetness which leads to loss of nutrients. Cocoa powder does contain some nutrients but these nutrients are present in much higher quantity in cacao powder.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract is added for flavouring. You can skip it if you don’t like but I highly recommend it. Make sure to use pure vanilla extract and not essence which is full of synthetic flavours.
- Maple Syrup: This adds some natural sweetness and also helps to bind the balls together. In addition to that maple syrup when taken in moderation is considered a part of a healthy diet that’s helpful in preventing certain diseases like arthritis, inflammatory bowel disease or heart disease. If you don’t want to use maple syrup, you can choose to add raw honey. I personally like flavour of maple syrup in this recipe.
How To Make These Energy Balls
1. Soak dates in hot water for ten minutes or till they soften. Once the dates soften, remove the seeds.
2. If using raw seeds, dry roast them in the oven for 4-5 minutes at 180 c or on stove top till seeds start crackling and are get crunchy. Roasting seeds is important before consuming because roasting or soaking seeds helps to break phytic acids which are naturally present in all seeds. Phytic acids inhibits absorption of minerals like iron, zinc calcium, magnesium and manganese.
3. Now add the ingredients in a blender- rolled oats, roasted seeds, maple syrup, soaked dates, nut butter, vanilla extract and cacao powder. Give it a blitz in a blender till all the ingredients come together.
4. Remove the mixture on a plate. Chill the mixture in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
5. Now roll it into a 1 inch balls or the size you prefer.
6. Then enjoy immediately! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Troubleshooting
- If you have trouble holding the energy balls together, add some more almond butter to make the mixture more sticky. Do not add more maple syrup or honey to make it sticky. You might end up with overly sweet energy balls.
- Alternatively, you can also just press the mixture into a square baking dish to make flat energy bars instead of round energy balls.
Variations
You can also customize these energy balls as per your liking. Feel free to be creative.
- Add shredded roasted coconut for more nutty flavour. Just reduce the quantity of oats and add coconut flakes. I highly recommend roasting coconut flakes before adding.
- Add spices like ground cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice to give energy balls some extra flavour.
- Choose nut butter of your choice. I personally make these with either almond butter or peanut butter. You can also use cashew butter, sunflower seed butter.
- You can also skip cacao powder and add dark chocolate chips instead. Choose mini chocolate chips for easy rolling.
Protein Packed Energy Balls
Equipment
- 1 Food Processor
Ingredients
- 100 grams Nut Butter (Almond, Peanut or Cashew Butter)
- 135 grams Rolled Oats
- 15 grams Unsalted Roasted Mixed Seeds (Sunflower, Pumpkin, Hemp, Flaxseeds or Chia seeds)
- 25 grams Dates
- 7 grams Unsweetened Cacao powder
- 40 ml Pure Maple Syrup or Raw Honey
- 5 ml Pure Vanilla Extract
Instructions
- Soak dates in hot water for ten minutes or till they soften. Once the dates soften, drain the water and remove the seeds.
- If using raw seeds, dry roast them in the oven for 4-5 minutes at 180 c or on stove top till seeds start crackling and are get crunchy.
- Now add all the ingredients mentioned above in a blender- rolled oats, roasted seeds, maple syrup, soaked dates, nut butter, vanilla extract and cacao powder. Give it a blitz in a blender till all the ingredients come together.
- Remove the mixture on a plate. Chill the mixture in refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
- Now roll it into a 1 inch balls or the size you prefer.
- Then enjoy immediately! Or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 2 week or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- You can use any nut or seed butter. I used almond butter in this recipe but I often make this with peanut butter also. You can also add sunflower seed butter or hemp seed butter.
- If you have trouble holding the energy balls together, add some more nut butter to make the mixture more sticky. Do not add more maple syrup or honey to make it sticky. You might end up with overly sweet energy balls.
- You can also line a baking tray or any rectangular dish with parchment and press the mixture to make energy bars. After pressing refrigerate the mixture for 1-2 hours and the cut into bars.
