chocolate chia energy balls

 

Real talk right now. I was supposed to make a vegan pancake recipe for today but we’ve just been re-making this Minimalist Baker recipe every single weekend because why ruin a good thing? No, a great thing. If you haven’t had these pancakes then you need to get your sweet self over to Dana’s blog because they are the best. 

Pancake news over. 

In my efforts to focus a little more on nutrition this year, I made another date recipe. Surprise. Didn’t see that one coming did ya? I was gonna make these bar kinda grab-and-go things since bike season is basically upon us. I mean.. it’s January you guys. Anyways, once I got all this stuff in the food processor they were really tasty and seemed like they would make better balls. I contemplated calling these bites but um hello who doesn’t love a good energy ball? A bite is a small piece of a larger thing. But a ball? Well that’s a fancy, bite SIZED snack. In other news, cocoa energy BARS coming at you sometime in the near future for bike sized fun.

This recipe is super awesome because you literally just put everything in your food processor and pulse/chop/grind it until it’s an even consistency and kinda thick. I would recommend pulsing the dates separately before you add everything else and definitely use fresh dates… otherwise your food processor might violently shake back and forth when you’re trying to mix everything.

Other things that are new over here. We moved our bed to the front room of our apartment for a few reasons. One, it’s like three times the size of our current bedroom. We originally thought we wanted the extra space for entertaining but every time we have people over everyone just hangs out in the one room anyways. Two, I am obsessed with the dark navy that we painted the walls and not so into the green/grey that I chose to paint the bedroom. I don’t even like green. So, we love it but Neko is pissed that we took away her big window to watch squirrels out of. She’ll get over it.

Oh yeah, I have plantar fasciitis so that’s a ball. Do you want to know how much custom orthopaedic insoles cost? No. No, you do not.

Maybe if you munch on these cocoa chia energy balls you’ll forget how much your custom insoles cost (insert the crying/laughing emoji face, here).

Things I’m loving this week:

Plantar fasciitis. Sike.

This spicy red lentil curry from Minimalist Baker that I’m planning on making Wednesday night. Always a favorite in our house.

This beautiful Le Creuset saucepan that I’m realllll close to buying with some Christmas cash and money I got from selling some old clothes.

Lusting over this Smeg toaster that I absolutely cannot justify. The pastel green, oh my heart eye emoji.

Lizzo’s got me feelin’ it this week with this one.

And naturally, the PACKERS. You guys know I grew up in Green Bay right? Well Wisconsin is good at two three things: cheese curds, drinking a lot of watered down beer, and football. No, I will never be a Viking’s fan.

Budgeting (so lame, I know). I’m getting real about actually taking out cash for spending money and not buying all the candles that are not even on sale at Target. I was inspired by my friends Jon and Mel who paid off $50,000 in student loan debt recently. Super awesome.

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chocolate chia energy balls

Author: Dana Zychowski

Active Time:           Total Time: 

10 minutes               20 minutes

Servings: 18-20 date balls

Recipe Type: Snack

Ingredients:

• 20 pitted dates, I used Trader Joe’s pitted delget noor dates
• 1/3 cup pecans, pieces/halves/whole it doesn’t really matter
• 1 TBSP chia seeds
• 1 TBSP flax meal
• 1 TBSP hemp hearts
• 1 TBSP quality cocoa powder, as always I use Kind Arthur Flour’s Black Cocoa (it’s the bomb, you guys)
• 1/2 TBSP melted coconut oil
• 1/2 TBSP agave

Directions:

Add pitted dates to your food processor and pulse them until they become a thick, paste like substance. Be sure to use fresh dates as they are much softer than those which may have been sitting in your fridge for three weeks. Add remaining ingredients to the food processor and pulse until all ingredients are thoroughly  combined. The pecan pieces should be incorporated nicely with no large chunks.

Split the mixture into four equal chunks and place in the fridge for about ten minutes. This will give your mixture time to set and for the coconut oil to harden slightly. After ten minutes have passed, remove mixture from fridge. Take about 1/2 TBSP or so of the mixture and use the palms of your hands to roll into balls. Store balls in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Store in the freezer for up to two months, but be sure to let them thaw slightly before eating.