Low Waste Recipe: Energy Balls

My kids call these their “super booster energy balls.” I love them because they are a healthy, protein-filled snack and the kids love them because they think they’re getting cookie dough balls. Plus, we always have so much fun making (and eating) them together. They’re easy to pack or bring along for a mid-day snack, but also perfect for just much on at home. They also happen to be plant-based, vegan and can be modified to be nut-free as well.

Our Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 ½ cups rolled cups oats

• 1 Tbs. chia seeds

• 1 Tbs. flax seeds

• ¾  cup nut butter (my kids prefer peanut butter in this recipe)

• ⅓  cup maple syrup

• 1 tsp. vanilla extract or flavoring

• ¼ tsp. fine salt

• ½ cup raisins

Instructions:

• Using a wooden spoon, mix all of your ingredients together until well combined in a large metal bowl.

• Cover with a dishtowel and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. 

• Remove and roll the dough into 1” balls.

Optional:

• Chocolate Chips: If you want to make them even sweeter, you can do ¼ cup raisins and ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips or remove the raisins entirely and do ½ cup chocolate chips instead. Cacao nibs are also a fun, healthy addition.

• Almond Coconut: Use almond butter as your nut butter and add ¼ cup finely chopped almonds. Reduce oats to 2 cups. Add ¾ cup of shredded coconut. Remove raisins and do ¼ cup vegan chocolate chips instead.

• School Snack and/or Nut Allergies: For a nut-less treat, swap out nut the butter for a seed butter like sunflower seed.

Notes:

Because vanilla extract has a high alcohol content and the energy balls are not cooked, our family opts to use organic vanilla flavoring instead for this recipe. Also, if after refrigerating, the mixture seems too sticky, you can chill for longer or add additional oats a bit at a time. If too dry, add a little more nut butter syrup. If your hands get super sticky, it becomes hard to roll the balls. Rinse hands every so often to make rolling easier.

Storage:

Store the energy balls in an airtight container such as a repurposed glass jar for up to 2 weeks or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Low Waste Tips

Consider the types of packaging you’re buying when sourcing ingredients. We keep this recipe low waste by buying the ingredients in bulk or in glass. Look for the following in the bulk section of your grocery store or in plastic alternative packagings such as glass or recycled paper…

• In Bulk: Oats, chia seeds, flax seeds, nut butter, maple syrup, salt, raisins

• In Glass: Nut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract, or flavoring

• In Recycled Cardboard: Raisins