Almond, Spirulina and Orange Energy Balls

Looking through my cupboards the other day I was reminded that I had a massive bag of Spirulina and I never really use it.  I thought it would be good to add the very dark green powder to an energy ball but was worried it would be too over powering.  Also I though orange zest would be a good add on as well so my first ever make it up as I go along turned out really really good!

If you give it a try let me know!

Makes 26 balls weighing 15g each (approximately)

Ingredients

100g almonds
10 dates pitted (pitted weight 200g)
2tbsp raw cacao powder
zest of one orange (approx 20g/1½tbsp)
½tbsp spirulina
½tbsp hemp protein powder
1tbsp chia seeds
2tbsp almond butter
1tbsp coconut oil (solid form)

Method

Place the almonds in a food processor (I used a Magimix 5200XL) and process for about a minute until crumbly.  Add the rest of the ingredients and process this time for about a minute until it all binds together.  Pick a bit out and squeeze with your fingers.  If it doesn't bind add another tablespoon of coconut oil.

I weigh my energy balls using a Heston Blumenthal Precision Kitchen Scale. I like each energy ball to weigh approximately 15kg.  This is a great size for kids and quite often I'll have 2 at a time!

Place the balls in the freezer for at least an hour and then store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Nutritional Information

Per ball:

69 calories

3.6g fat

6.6g carbohydrates

1.8g protein

Cost per Energy Ball (prices correct at April 2016)

Ingredient	Qty	Unit	Source	Qty in bag (g)	Unit Price	Cost of ingredient
Almonds	100	g	Sainsburys	200	£2.20	£1.10
Dates	200	g	Forest Feast	180	£2.59	£2.88
Cacao powder	12	g	Sevenhills	500	£6.99	£0.17
Orange zest			Sainsburys			£0.38
Spirulina	4	g	Sevenhills	500	£9.99	£0.08
Hemp protein powder	4	g	Sevenhills	500	£10.99	£0.09
Almond butter	40	g	Meridan	1000	£16.50	£0.66
Coconut Oil	15	g	Lucy Bee	300	£6.00	£0.30
Chia Seeds	12	g	Sevenhills	2000	£10.75	£0.06
Total Cost						£5.71
Cost per ball (qty 26)						£0.22

Jamie Oliver’s Apricot, Ginger & Cashew Energy Balls

I don't often go supermarket shopping as I tend to shop online but I visited sainsburys about 4 times over the space of two weeks and I just kept seeing Jamie Oliver's new Everyday Superfood book.  I'd seen a few of his TV programmes so every visit I had a flick through wanting to try every recipe and my last visit I put it in the trolley.

Now due to copyright issues (although I couldn't find the small print) I can't copy and paste his recipe here however I will let you know that they are easy to make and have you'll have the majority of the ingredients in your cupboard; cashew nuts, sesame seeds, dried apricots, fresh ginger, mixed spice and manuka honey.  The only extra ingredient you will need to purchase is puffed brown rice which I managed to source on the reliable Amazon!

Jamie suggested his recipe made 12 portions but I like to be able to put a whole ball in my mouth in one go (comes as part of secret eating when working around toddlers!).  I made each ball to be about 10g and made 20 in total.  Using my trusty Mac Numbers spreadsheet these worked out at under 20p each!

Deliciously Ella's Raw Coconut & Cacao Bites

I'm a huge fan of Deliciously Ella's app and blog. Her book is on my Christmas Wish List though I'm not sure I need it as she has so many wonderful recipes on her blog available for all. Still it would look great on my green and lean book shelf!

Some of you may know that my husband is Type 1 Diabetic and he carb counts in order to control how much insulin he injects therefore I need to weigh a lot of our meals in order to give him correct guidance.

Since I've discovered Deliciously Ella's snacks he has been helping himself to my stack in the fridge but can never get the carb count right so this evening I weighed out all the ingredients using my american cups and my Kitchen Craft Measuring Spoon Set.

So in more detail here in grams is Deliciously Ella's Raw Coconut & Cacao Bites.  Please check out her site to read more information about why these are so great and of course the method.

Ingredients

90g Desiccated Coconut

160g Almonds

80g Cashew Nut Butter

20g Coconut Oil

12g Cacao Powder

165g Medjool Dates (150g after being pitted, approx 8 dates)

15g Desiccated Coconut for dusting

I weighed 20g of mixture to roll into balls and in turn made 23 balls. I like to firm them up in the fridge before eating and storing in an air tight container, also in the fridge.

Nutritional Information

Per ball:

125 calories

9.5g Fat

6.8g Carbohydrates

2.8g Protein

Cost (prices correct as of Nov 2015)

Ingredient	Qty	Unit	Source	Qty in bag (g)	Unit Price	Cost of ingredient
Desiccated Coconut	90	g	Sainsburys	250	£1.50	£0.54
Almonds	160	g	Sainsburys	200	£2.20	£1.76
Dates (weight with stones)	164	g	Forest Feast	180	£2.59	£2.36
Cashew Butter	80	g	Sainsburys	170	£2.80	£1.32
Coconut Oil	20	g	Lucy Bee	300	£6.00	£0.40
Cacao powder	12	g	Sevenhills	500	£6.99	£0.17
Desiccated Coconut for dusting	15	g	Sainsburys	250	£1.50	£0.09
Total Cost						£6.64
Cost per ball (qty 23)						£0.29