These pecan and cacao energy balls are naturally sweetened with raisins, high in healthy fats and protein, and therefore the perfect healthy snack.
Energy Balls for Snacks
We started seeing energy balls and other healthy treats in coffee shops and I could not be happier about that. These balls are the ideal snack for a quick intake of healthy fat and protein when you need energy – hence the name “energy ball”.
Snacking is a part of life, and whether you’re hungry or need a little boost, you can find yourself looking for food in the middle of the afternoon.
It’s for these times that I love having a batch of those power balls hanging around in my fridge. We don’t always control how we feel during the day and that’s why I like to be prepared. It’s better to eat a healthy snack than a processed or packaged one.
So be ready, and make 12 little balls of goodness.
How to Make These Power Balls
All you need is pecan nuts, a sweetener like raisins, a little bit of maple syrup, flax seeds and cacao, and one big table spoon of almond butter. You can add desiccated coconut if you want to roll them in it.
Start by reducing your pecan nuts to a fine powder in a blender. Then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until a thick paste forms. When I first tried this recipe, I was using a Nutri-bullet and it worked, even though it looked like the blender was struggling.
I think the more powerful the blender the better. It makes a thick paste so this is where your blender might resist a bit, but stop the blender and scrape the sides before blending again, and you should reach the right consistency.
Once all the ingredients are well mixed together, take a spoonful of the mixture and form a ball with your hands, rolling it to make it perfectly round.
Do this again until you have used all of the paste, it should make about 10-12 balls.
You can roll each ball into the desiccated coconut if you are using it. It adds a slight crunch and extra flavour, as well as healthy fat, win-win.
Let me know in the comments if you have made these cacao energy balls and what you think !
For other snack ideas, you might like :
Pecan & Cacao Energy Balls
Ingredients
- 100 g pecan nuts
- 75 g Sultanas raisins
- 1 tbsp flax seeds
- 1 tbsp raw cacao powder
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp almond butter
- 30 g desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Blitz the pecan nuts into a fine powder.
- Add the raisins, flaxseeds, cacao powder, maple syrup and almond butter. Blend them together, stopping the blender to scrape the side if needed. I use a tamper to help mix all the ingredients.
- When a thick paste forms, stop the blender. Scoop out some of the mixture and shape into a ball.
- Roll into the desiccated coconut until the ball is completely coated.
- Repeat until you have no more pecan mixture, it should make about 10-12 balls.
