Although I try to eat nuts and seeds on a daily basis, they can get kinda boring which makes it hard to stay consistent.  That’s why I created these healthy raw energy balls; they can be eaten for breakfast or as a mid-day snack when you’re tempted to eat junk food.  To make this recipe even more healthy, you can soak the nuts and pumpkin seeds overnight and then rinse them to remove most of the phytates (phytates in nuts and seeds bind to certain nutrients which prevents your body from absorbing them).  Make sure they are completely dry again before using (wet seeds and nuts will not blend properly and will taste different as well).  Although I stay away from making chocolate goodies due to my husband and daughter’s GERD, you can also add raw cacao powder to satisfy your chocolate cravings.  

Ingredients:

• 1 cup almonds*
• 1 cup walnuts*
• 1/2 cup pumpkin seeds*
• 4 tbsp ground chia seeds
• 1/8 tsp of salt
• 1 1/2 cups pitted medjool dates
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tbsp raw cacao powder (optional)

*preferably soaked for 8 hours or overnight, and then rinsed and dried before processing.  Soaking is not a required step.  

Directions:

1.  Place the nuts and seeds in your food processor and blend until they form a coarse flour.  

 
2.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until a dough-like texture is formed.   

 
3.  Form the dough into 20-25 balls using your hands.  Keep refrigerated.