ENERGY BALLS!!
My latest go-to/annoying thing to rave about: energy balls. I usually work out before work and hit the train at around 6am, so I'm awake and need a little bit of energy (/motivation to get out of bed) to get to the gym and through my workout, but I'm not ready for a full-on breaky quite yet.
My friend MaryClaire had me try one of these at work recently, and since I've been hooked. Packed with super nutritious ingredients, and includes chocolate and peanut butter so obviously they tasty. Each ball comes in at around 140-160 cals, depending on what you put in and how big you make them. (my friend Anthony adopted this recipe but he makes each ball about the size of a softball, so the cals may vary..)
Recipe is from this runner chick's 'Pink Cookies with Sprinkles' Blog here.
Here it what I usually end up doing (omitted some ingredients from the orig because I'm cheap sometimes, but each batch has turned out different each time. Fun to experiment!)
1 cup rolled oats (old fashioned, NOT quick <--although I used quick on accident once and lived to tell the tale)
1/2 cup peanut butter (which amounts to about 8 spoonfuls. I have gone overboard on this before and they became a little too melty/mooshy, so be careful PB lovers)
1/3 cup RAW honey (I'm cheap and do reg sometimes. But raw is betta)
1/2 cup ground flax seeds (loveeee the flax)
1/2 dark chocolate chunks
1-2 tbsp chia seeds
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla (realizing as I write this now I've forgotten the salt and vanilla the past couple batches, whoops. I recommend using these ingredients!)
I usually omit these two because I'm cheap but they are great additions:
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds (unsalted)
Here's what you do:
Mix all ingredients together and refrigerate 45 minutes to an hour
Roll into small balls and keep refrigerated. I usually 'frost' with a little peanut butter on top because peanut butter.
Enjoy!! They are great first thing in the morning or as a snack, or a quick and filling treat!
