Christmas Energy Balls
Mmmmm....Christmas food. Sausage rolls, canapés, mulled wine, brandy butter....Let’s face it; life’s too short for all but the most dedicated health nut to turn down the odd mince pie or Great Aunt Bessie’s Christmas trifle.
But with Christmas festivities and seasonal commitments at school starting sometimes as early as November, it can be hard to last the season without feeling wiped out!
These amazingly delicious ‘no-cook’ Christmas energy balls will boost the system to help sustain you over the final hurdle, be that the last mile of a marathon, the end of term or 25th December! Just a fabulous ‘super' food festive treat. Rich in heart-friendly unsat fats, dietary fibre, vitamins and essential minerals such as potassium, they’ll revitalise the body and sustain your energy levels!
I also bring tidings of great joy. Not all festive fare is loaded with unwanted and nutrient-poor calories! Click on my Seasonal Survival Guide to discover which foods will power you into January with a spring in your step.
If you're involved with cooking in school, these energy balls are fun to make in class. Or try these date and walnut energy balls - tried and tested in the classroom and nicknamed 'healthy Haribo' recently by a group of Reception children who absolutely adored them!
#GoFasterFriday
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Christmas Energy Balls
Ingredients
for 15-20 balls
40g walnuts or pecans
120g dates
160g mincemeat
80g porridge oats, or
4 Weetabix, crumbled
1 tsp mixed spice
25g ground almonds
Zest of one orange, finely grated
2 tsp coconut oil
100g icing sugar
Juice of ½ lime
Method - prep time 10 mins - no cook
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Place the nuts in a food processor and blitz until roughly chopped. Add the dates and blitz again, until the mixture starts to stick together. You can do this by hand if you prefer, by chopping the nuts and dates as finely as possible with a sharp knife.
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Add the mincemeat, porridge oats (or Weetabix), mixed spice, ground almonds, orange zest and the coconut oil and blitz again, very briefly, until combined.
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Roll into small balls in the palm of your hands, about 1 ½ cm in diameter.
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Pour the icing sugar into a clean bowl and beat in the lime juice until smooth. Spoon the icing over the energy balls and decorate with your favourite Christmas cake decorations!
