I thought it was time for a foodie post, and what better recipe to share but this one from Deliciously Ella: her Hazelnut and Raisin Energy Balls.

I’m always on the look-out for plant-based treats and this one is lovely.  Although you can buy Nakd bars and the like, there is something very satisfying about going to the effort to creating your own – not to mention it also ends up being much cheaper on your pocket.  And it especially rewarding when your kids taste them and, instead of screwing up their faces and proclaiming them to be ‘disgusting’ and acting like you are trying to poison them (can you tell my kids aren’t the biggest fans of my plant-based diet?), they claim they love them and try and snaffle them for their own.


These energy balls tick all the ‘healthy but yummy’ boxes.  They are:
chocolatey

sweet

sticky

a bit crunchy

moreish

I did substitute sultanas for raisins  – they are half the price and, let’s face it, they taste and look exactly like raisins!  I also missed out the cardamom simply because I didn’t have any in my kitchen, but they were still really delicious.

INGREDIENTS

140g of roasted hazelnuts

200g of dates

1-heaped teaspoon of cinnamon

100g of raisins

1 cardamom pod

1½ tablespoons of raw cacao powder

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan) and bake the hazelnuts for 10 minutes, then leave aside to cool. Pulse half the hazelnuts in a food processor until they are broken down, then pit the dates and add them to the food processor along with the cinnamon, cardamom, cacao and half the raisins. Blend until everything has mixed together and formed a nice sticky dough, then add in the remaining hazelnuts and raisins and pulse a few times to roughly chop them. Roll the mixture into 12 equal sized balls. Place the balls in the fridge for an hour to set, then store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Makes 12 balls

Here’s the link if you would like to see Deliciously Ella in action making them.

Enjoy 🙂

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12 Comments

      1. I haven’t come across the ‘oh she glows’ cookbook. Thank you. I will look that one up! I am trying to build up a little selection of cookbooks at the moment. Let me know how the nut butter slices go. 🙂 xx

    1. Hi Tamara, lovely to ‘meet’ you 🙂 Thank you for your comment. I am actually already following your blog – it is so positive and helpful (I follow a plant based diet due to my Multiple Sclerosis). Wishing you all the best!

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