Highlight reel for this paleo snack:
- Tasty
- Nutritious
- Easy to Make
- Stores Well
- 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
Ingredients
- 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
Firstly, your dogs are adorable! Now as for the recipe, yum, I can’t wait to try this, I’ve always wanted to make larabars but couldn’t find the unsweetened cherries, may I ask where you found those freeze dried cherries?
could I make them with sunflower seeds? (needs to be nut free)
I absolutely think it’s worth a try! I haven’t done it myself but will put it on my to-do list. I’d love to know how they come out!
Yum!!! And awesome inspiration (the 5k)! I can’t wait for fresh cherry season up north…
Awesome, girl! I’d love to know what you think when you can try them out! 🙂