Home Made Energy Balls

Cyclists love their ‘in-ride’ snacks and Energy Balls have become very fashionable of late. If you’re looking for a cheap, nutritious, homemade alternative to the energy balls you can buy in the shops, why not have a go at this recipe.

With a few simple ingredients and a little time you can knock up these ball to keep in the freezer ready for slipping in to a jersey pocket or bag for those long days in the saddle.

 

Ingredients

  • 200g Prunes (Use the ‘dry’ variety not the tinned ones in juice)
  • 75g Dates with stones removed
  • 50g Cranberries
  • 115g Mixed chopped nuts.
  • 35g Mixed Seeds

 

Method

  1. Place the Prunes, Dates, and half of the chopped nuts in a food processor and pulse briefly until the mixture forms a sticky paste. (Depending on the power of your processor this may only take a few seconds so be careful not to overdo it)
  2. Move the paste in to a mixing bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix in well by hand.
  3. Divide the mixture in to ten equal lumps and shape each lump in to a ball by hand
  4. Place evenly on to a baking tray or plastic box
  5. Chill in the freezer for a least 60mins to let the mixture harden.
  6. Once hardened remove from the freezer and they’re ready to eat.

Individual balls can be kept in the fridge for ten days or around three weeks in the freezer.

 

Variations.

This recipe should yield ten energy balls of around 45g each, but if you prefer bigger or smaller energy balls then you can cut your mixture accordingly.

The nut and berry parts can be tweaked to suit your individual taste – Almonds, Hazelnuts, Peanuts, Cashews, and Macadamia nuts all work well. In place of cranberries you can use Goji berries, blueberries, or even small pieces of dried Apricot.

If you don’t want to make energy balls then you can just as easily make energy bars  by dividing the mixture in to ten parts and firmly compacting in to bar shapes before putting in the freezer to harden.

 

Nutrition

  • Calories – 165
  • Fat – 8g
  • Sugar – 11g
  • Salt – <0.02g

(Based on 47g bar using the ingredients above – your results may vary)

 

To see these energy balls being made watch our YouTube video at – https://youtu.be/E6erdKUNEMM

If you like this recipe please consider supporting us by buying a tea at www.buymeacoffee.com/cyclinglabs