Healthy Paleo Nutty Energy Balls

By: Cat Ebeling 
Co-author of the best-sellers:  The Fat Burning Kitchen, The Top 101 Foods that Fight Aging & The Diabetes Fix

Low carb, healthy fat snacks are difficult to find, without throwing off your diet, and trying to buy something like this becomes either a big chore to read through all the complicated ingredients, or you pay an exorbitant amount to buy at one of the big health food stores (“Whole Paycheck”). So I make my own tasty no-bake, super healthy energy balls. One of the best things about these is you can customize them according to your own taste, generally with ingredients on hand. I swap out the peanut or almond butter for sunflower butter, and use raisins, but any dried fruit is great. All you need to do is make sure the consistency will stick together in balls. You can even add in some small chunks of dark chocolate for extra antioxidants. Throw in coconut, your favorite nuts or seeds and viola! A tasty low glycemic, healthy snack.

These nutty morsels not only fill you up with healthy super-powered nutrients, but they also are low glycemic and high in fiber, and give you oodles of fat-burning energy. Try these before a workout or as a sweet satisfying dessert, or even a high-powered breakfast to go! Every ingredient in these is a virtual superfood bursting with healthy, energizing, fat burning potential.

The monounsaturated healthy fats from the nuts are good for your heart, blood vessels, skin, eyes and more. Nuts also contain a substance called ellagic acid which supports the immune system. Protein and fats in nuts fill you up, provide you with healthy fiber and lower cholesterol as well. Nuts also contain arginine and magnesium which helps to relax blood vessels, lowering blood pressure and increasing stamina. And the chia seeds in this recipe are loaded with omega 3 fats, and tons of antioxidants! They provide complete protein, along with a bushel of nutrition!

Ingredients

1 cup raw or roasted almond, cashew, sunflower or peanut butter (I personally like to mix almond and cashew butter as a delicious blend)

1-2 Tbsp coconut oil

1 Tbsp minced ginger (optional)

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 cup raisins, goji berries, or dried cranberries

½ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

4-6 pitted dates, or 1 Tbsp maple syrup or honey (if you want this recipe as low-carb as possible, omit these natural sweeteners and use stevia and/or monk fruit sweetener instead)

pinch of sea salt

1 tsp vanilla

1-2 Tbsp of organic cocoa powder (optional)

2 scoops cold processed whey protein or collagen protein powder

1-3 Tbsp water or milk if needed to thin the mix and get the right moisture content

Directions

Mix all ingredients in bowl or food processor. Press and roll into balls or press into a square pan.  I personally use a pastry cutter type of mashing device to mix this easily.  Refrigerate for an hour or more. Keep refrigerated.  Or freeze them if you plan to eat them over longer periods of time.

You should also know that this recipe is an almost perfect low-glycemic snack for Diabetics, due to it’s blend of fiber, healthy fats, antioxidants, and a reasonably low amount of sugars and carbs that impact blood sugar.  Speaking of Diabetes, make sure to read this page next:

1 Simple trick to REVERSE your Diabetes (hint: it’s NOT cinnamon or any supplement)