Louisa Simmonds

Okay, so I know they look like something the dog deposited in retribution for not getting a walk, but energy balls taste infinitely better than they look.

I decided to go all Jamie Oliver yesterday and made some energy balls in an attempt to steer Kurt clear of energy drinks and plastic cereal and to give me that 11am lift, which is usually when I’m ready for my first nap of the day.

In case you haven’t heard of them, energy balls are little balls of mashed up, healthy goodness you eat as an alternative to Snickers bars and all the other comfort crap that tastes really good (but is really bad for you), provide you with very little real energy, make you listless and in need of lots of naps. 

One of my bosses is this healthy-eating, veggie freak and although she never rams her dietary smugness down my throat, some of her wisdom is starting to rub off on me; especially as the kilos continue to mount for no fucking reason with the sly approach of menopause.

Would you believe I actually ordered a veggie Subway the other day when I was out with her?

Anyway, where I would normally shove a couple of Snickers, a few bags of chilli chips and several cans of Coke into the snack bag when we set off on a trip to back-of- beyondsville, she brings these neat little energy balls to keep her and the delivery guys going (that is until the boys head off to Maccas for lunch).

The balls contain all these super-weird-sounding, fancy-schmancy, healthy ingredients that I’m sure are just as fattening as unrefined ones at the rate I consume them – because let’s face it, healthy eating is not known to be filling – but if you want to give off that warm glow of superiority at morning tea, eating energy balls looks a lot better than stuffing a whole muffin into your gob in one go.

Apparently they only have 90 calories per ball, which in my world is about an apple and a half, but obviously the food orgasm is vastly superior.

They’re slippery little suckers to make and not that attractive, but you can pretty them up with some shredded coconut or Cacao (like I used – looks like hot chocolate powder but is a refined version, apparently).

I picked this particular recipe because these balls have chocolate chips and peanut butter as ingredients – I was worried my body might go into shock if I took this healthy eating thing too fast. And the other great thing about using Peanut Butter in just about any sweet recipe is watching the Princess eat it.

It goes without saying that the balls are super-easy to make or I wouldn’t have contemplated them, and they would make it into the ‘Dummy’s Guide To Energy Balls’, if such a thing existed.

Ingredients:

1 cup of Quick Oats

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 tbs melted coconut oil

1 tbs chia seeds

2 tbs flax seed meal (sounds exotic but I found it in IGA)

3 tbs mini chocolate chips

pinch of salt

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Raisins – small handful

Cacao or coconut to coat

Directions:

In a large bowl mix together all ingredients until combined. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 mins. Then roll into balls. Place in an airtight container in the fridge for about a week.

Recipe provided by Stephanie on Eat-Drink-Love.com.

Be warned, as healthy as they sound, it’s impossible to stop at one.

Happy weekend no-baking!

Mrs Smug

#chocolate #Health #Family #energyballs #healthyeating #Food #Humor #Eating