Paleo Sour Cherry Energy Balls

Highlight reel for this paleo snack:

1. Tasty
2. Nutritious
3. Easy to Make
4. Stores Well
5. Easy to Carry

Sound good? I thought so.

I came up with this recipe in an effort to support the lululemon athletica Quarry Market’s Broadway Studio Hop 5k this morning. They had a great turn out and these delicious little energy balls helped refuel the sweaty participants after a fun run through downtown San Antonio with stops to visit a few of the fitness studios along the way for a mini workout.

I had a lot of fun, met a lot of great people, Austin went with me (a fun way to celebrate our now living in the same town), and made people smile with a tasty treat. What an awesome Sunday.

If you’ve ever made larabars from home, these little balls are very similar. I made them with freeze-dried cherries for extra flavor, added ground chia seeds for an omega 3 boost, and used fresh orange juice to make it all stick.

I took a tip from the Paleo Parents’ cooking demonstration last weekend at PaleoFX and rolled the little balls in unsweetened coconut to help make them less sticky.

Start off with 2 cups of almonds in your food processor. Pulse until the almond meal is coarsely ground (you still want some chunks).

(Note: you can either soak/dehydrate your own almonds (advisable) or purchase unsalted “natural” almonds.)

Remove half of the almond meal (1 cup worth). Remove the pit from the dates. Add ½ cup of dates to the 1 cup of almond meal left in the food processor. Add ½ cup of the freeze-dried cherries. (Feel free to throw in a few extra if you really like the “sour cherry” taste. I do.) Add 2 Tbl of ground chia seeds.

Juice ¼ cup of fresh orange juice. Add to the mixture. Pulse until it’s well combined.

Add in the rest of the ground almonds and pulse until well combined. Scoop out about 1 tsp balls.

Roll in unsweetened coconut.

Paleo Sour Cherry Energy Balls

5 from 1 vote

By Cassy

Prep: 15 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 36 balls

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Rolling these in coconut is the key to them not being sticky to eat.

Ingredients  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups Natural Almonds
• ▢ ½ cup Dates
• ▢ ½ cup Freeze-Dried Cherries
• ▢ ¼ cup Orange Juice
• ▢ 2 tbsp Chia Seeds
• ▢ 1/4 cup Unsweetened Coconut

Instructions 

• Pulse almonds until coarsely chopped.
• Remove half (1 cup of ground almonds) from mixer.
• Add in dates, cherries, chia seeds, and orange juice. Pulse until well combined.
• Add in rest of ground almond meal and pulse until well combined again.
• Spoon out 1 tsp balls and roll in unsweetened coconut. Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• Enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 65kcal | Carbohydrates: 5g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 5g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 82mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 4IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 0.4mg

Additional Info

Course: Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: 36 balls

Calories: 65

Keyword: energy ball, sour cherry energy balls

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