Walnut and Date Power Balls

Power balls, bliss balls, protein balls, little bites of deliciousness….whatever you want to call them these bite size treats taste great and pack a great punch of healthy fats and protein without any added sweeteners or nasty stuff. They are super easy to whip up and you can keep them in the freezer so there's no excuse not to have 1 (or more!) on hand for when you’re feeling peckish. 

You can substitute a variety of dried fruit, nuts and seeds depending on what you enjoy and what's in your cupboard. My baking and cooking is fairly creative (or experimental!) so these amounts are flexible depending on taste, often I just eyeball it and add things as I go but here is the basic recipe.

1 ¼ Cup Dates (These can be medjool or regular - just make sure you take the pits out first!)
1 Cup Walnuts
4tbsp Cocoa
1tsp Vanilla Extract
A pinch of salt

Now here is the easy bit….bang it all in the food processor and blend, blend, blend! You may need to stop and scrape down the sides a few times to get all the mixture evenly blended but that's basically it. When the mixture is the consistency of sticky dough and squashes together easily then it's ready. 
Using a teaspoon, get the mixture in your hands and roll it into a ball, repeat until you run out of mixture! I dust mine with cocoa when I’m done, put them in an airtight container and keep them in the fridge or freezer. Kept in the fridge or freezer they should keep for a good few months. 
If you do decide to freeze them just take them out a few minutes before you want to eat them. 

Download and save the recipe here: Walnut and Date Power Balls
Recipe by Hanna - hanna@mwfitness.net