These energy balls are a convenient snack that provide a good balance of complex carbs, healthy fats, and filling protein! They’re low sugar and super easy to make: no food processor or baking required!
why these energy balls are a smart choice
Most of the energy ball recipes I’ve seen and tasted have been UBER sweet. There’s energy balls, and then there’s sugar balls. You might as well snack on candy!
So I set out to create a tasty treat that with just enough sweetness… an energy ball that gets its energy from more than just sugar.
It was a huge success! Each one of these energy balls contains less than 1.5g of added sugar! This translates to about 4-6 calories of added sugar. If you ate 3 energy balls it would be about 15 calories from added sugar.
The World Health Organization recommends consuming less than 10% of your day’s total energy as added sugar. If you consume 2000 calories a day, a satisfying snack of three energy balls would only equal 8% of your recommended added sugar intake for the day!
The “energy” from these bites is found in the complex carbohydrates in the oats, the protein in the whey, and the healthy fat in the ___ (peanut/nut/seed)butter. As an added bonus, the oats and flax provide some fibre to help with regularity, gut health, and healthy cholesterol levels!
learn how to make these no-bake energy balls (60 seconds):
If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations!
coconut mocha energy balls (low sugar)
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats
- ¼ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup cocoa
- 2 tbsp corn syrup
- 2 tbsp melted coconut oil
- 2 tbsp flaked coconut
- 1 tsp instant coffee
- 2 tsp water if needed
Instructions
By hand:
- Add all ingredients (except the water) to a bowl and stir to combine.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out and form into a ball. Don't try to squish the dough too hard with your hands. The recipe is light on the sticky syrup so you need to gently coax them into a ball shape. Now is not the time to be a perfectionist in making the spheres!
- Add water, 1 tsp at a time, if the mixture is too crumbly to stick together at all.
- Allow to firm up in the fridge.
With food processor:
- Measure the oats into the food processor and turn on high. Process until oats are nearly a flour consistency.
- Add the rest of ingredients to a bowl (except the water) and stir to combine.
- Using a small cookie scoop, scoop out and form into a ball. Don't try to squish the dough too hard with your hands. The recipe is light on the sticky syrup so you need to gently coax them into a ball shape. Now is not the time to be a perfectionist in making the spheres!
- Add water, 1 tsp at a time, if the mixture is too crumbly to stick together at all.
- Allow to firm up in the fridge.
Notes
If you enjoyed this recipe, check out these other energy ball flavours!
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I just saved this so I haven’t made any yet, but since I make this kind of treat a lot around holidays I thought I’d add a suggestion to make them even healthier. Use raw, unfiltered honey instead of corn syrup. Raw honey is a powerhouse full of natural things that keep away and/or kill germs, bacteria, etc.! Natural maple syrup is as good as a backup for keeping healthy and therefore BOTH are so much better than corn syrup, which I see as not beneficial to one’s health at all! These energy bites are definitely better when they’ve been chilled, rather than skipping that and eating them as softer dough balls. Thanks for the great recipes!
So glad you enjoy the recipe!