Way back when, I used to travel to the office in Montclair and I loved getting these peanut butter chocolate chip energy balls from this place called Manhattan Juice Company. I thought it was a little crazy to pay almost $3 per energy ball, but I'd go there for lunch and almost always add one in for a late afternoon snack. These energy balls were big and they really hit the spot. They got me through the afternoon and through the long commute home.
I started missing them so experimented with a couple of different recipes. Happy to report that I think I've made the perfect energy ball, at least in my opinion. I'm not sure if I'd take these to a race with me. Peanut butter is a little sticky and these require chewing and savoring each bite. Not much time during a race to do that. However, these do make the perfect late afternoon snack and they remind me of a healthy version of a Reese's peanut butter cup. They also happen to be vegan and gluten-free.
You can experiment on your own, but here is what I found to be the perfect combination. I checked out a bunch of different recipes, but this one is closest to the one found on this site: eatingbirdfood.com. This recipe makes about 10-12 energy balls. I made mine about an inch in diameter, but you can make yours as big or as little as you like. There are no weird ingredients and the only potential downside is that the chia seeds end up getting stuck between your teeth.
You will need:
1 cup of rolled oats
1/2 cup of smooth peanut butter. My favorite is Teddie Peanut Butter.
1/4 cup of maple syrup
1/4 cup of unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips. I like the ones made by Enjoy Life, but it might be easier to find the Simply Natural chocolate chips made by Nestle.
2 tablespoons of chia seeds
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
7 ingredients of deliciousness
Mix it all up in a bowl and let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least 30 mins. Roll into 1 inch balls (about 1 tablespoon) and store in a glass container in the fridge.
Nom, nom, nom
This afternoon, I had two of these and it definitely held me over until dinner. I've been trying to be good by avoiding junky salty snacks. Having these on hand makes it much easier. My two younger kids sampled these yesterday and I got a big thumbs up from both of them. I'll definitely be making these on the regular.
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