superfood energy balls

In my spare time, I’ve started to really love going on runs. Of course, I’ve found that having a good, healthy snack beforehand is perfect for an energy boost to keep me going – and there’s nothing better than a homemade energy ball for doing so.

I’m working on a very exciting project at the moment with my friend, Louise Houghton. And inspired by the London marathon, and love of running, we decided to come up with a superfood energy ball recipe perfect for a long run! This recipe is packed with two of my favourite super foods: goji berries and spirulina. Goji berries have a beautiful colour and sweet taste – they contain vitamin C, A, iron and fibre. Spirulina contains calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B, iron and are made from 60-70% protein!! So both are filled with nutrients.

However, asides from my two favourite superfoods, these treats also contain a handful of other delicious ingredients; dates, hemp seeds, almonds, almond butter, cinnamon and vanilla. Yum! After binding them all together in a food processor, and pressing into energy balls, they were quickly made and ready for eating. These taste amazing and you’d have no idea how healthy they were. I’m really loving snacking on these before my runs at the moment, so I hope you enjoy the recipe too!

superfood energy balls

makes about 15 large individual portions

ingredients

1/3 cup (55g) almonds

1 cup  (250g) dates

1/2 cup (55g) goji berries

1/3 cup (45g) shelled hemp seeds

2/3 cup (180g) smooth almond butter

1 tbsp spirulina

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

optional: desiccated coconut to roll in for decoration

method

1. Firstly, add the almonds, cinnamon and spirulina into your food processor for 10 seconds and blitz until the almonds are roughly chopped.

2. Then add in the dates, goji berries, almond butter, hemp seeds, and vanilla into the processor. Blend for a further few minutes (about 2-3), stopping occasionally and scraping down the sides of your processor, until the nuts and other ingredients have broken down and formed a sticky crumb.

3. When this is done, take a handful of the mixture and press into a ball shape. Then, repeat until all of the mixture has been used up. To decorate, finish by pouring some desiccated coconut onto a plate, and rolling each one onto the coconut to cover them. Then serve.