Energy Balls

I brought these awesome energy balls to the Zumba in the Park party last week, and they were a major hit.

Let me tell you – they taste like dessert. You could legit bring them to a party as dessert and no one would ever know that you’re trying to feed them good things.

Here’s the recipe I followed, from Yummy Healthy Eats.

The ingredient list includes almonds, walnuts, dates, raisins, coconut, and a touch of vanilla and cinnamon. That’s it.

Even better (it gets better?!), these guys require no baking. Just a little time in the food processor. We have a mini food processor, and it still worked just fine.

Three tips if you’re using this recipe:

1) Use sticky dates. Medjool dates are stickier than normal dates, so they’re good to use. However, I could only find regular dates at my local grocery store and those worked just fine for this recipe. Just make sure you get regular dates, not the sugar-added ones. (For next time, I’ve ordered some of these from amazon).

2) Use new/fresh raisins – not ones that you’ve had sitting (with the container open) in your cupboard for awhile. If you do happen to use older raisins, add 1 tbsp. of water to the food processor when you chop them.

3) When rolling into balls, it helps to knead the mixture in your hands first. Grab the desired amount of mixture, squeeze it a bit, then roll it into a ball.

We had to chop each ingredient separately because of the small size of our processor, and it still worked – we started with the nuts first, then the dates, then the raisins. I mixed all of them in a bowl and then added the cinnamon and vanilla.

I brought these along with some bananas, oranges, and surprise smoothies to the Zumba in the Park party – they’re perfect as a treat or for your health-conscious friends. Honestly, you could wrap a few in a festive bag and give them as gifts.

I can’t wait to make them again!