Energy SuperFood Balls

Superfoods — we hear this word a lot lately.  So what are superfoods?  I wrote about superfoods for the Total Beauty Blog but here is a quick synopses: Superfoods are quality foods that deliver nutritional value far beyond what you’d get from average foods.

A lot of clients ask me what is a good energy boosting snack to have pre or post workout so I wanted to create a snack that’s packed with vital nutrients and at the same time will rev up your engine.  Yup, wanted to BE BALLSY so after some experimenting in the kitchen I created these scrumptious superfood balls.

They are also a great alternative to the energy bars found in grocery stores which are often loaded with hidden sugars, fats, and preservatives.  Make a couple batches at once and keep them in a tight closed container in your refrigerator to ensure you can always reach for a healthy snack before or after a workout.  Oh and they are also great for anyone with a sweet tooth!

You can’t beat this recipe as far as nutrition goes.  Try to find organic varieties of each ingredient – and of course raw for ultimate nutrition!

• 3⁄4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 3⁄4 cup sunflower seeds
• 4 dates
• 3 Tbsp flax meal
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil
• 1⁄2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
• 1 tsp lucuma
• tiny pinch of sea salt
• 1 Tbsp raw honey, (optional, if you like them sweeter)

Combine all ingredients (except for shredded coconut) in a food processor.  If you want a sweeter batter, add an extra date or raw honey.  Form mixture into balls about the size of a golf ball.  Roll each ball in the shredded coconut to coat and then refrigerate until chilled.

Optional: Add your favorite fresh berries.  Blueberries go really well and give you extra antioxidant punch!

Superfood status:

Pumpkin Seeds —  concentrated source of numerous health benefiting anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins.  They contain good quality protein and are an excellent source of B-complex group of vitamins such as thiamin, riboflavin,niacin, pantothenic acid, vitamin B-6 (pyridoxine) and folates.  They also contain very good levels of essential minerals like zinc, copper, manganese, potassium, calcium, iron, magnesium and selenium.

Sunflower Seeds —  think of them as your straight-up vitamin E pill.  Just one quarter-cup of the little seeds delivers half your daily vitamin E, which keeps your heart healthy, your skin and hair looking great, and fights infection throughout the entire body by neutralizing free radicals.  They reduce the symptoms of asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis, as well as the risk of complications due to diabetes.  Sunflower seeds are also is chock full of phytosterols.  These incredible compounds not only reduce high cholesterol levels, but also enhance the immune system.

Flax seeds —  teensy tiny nutritional powerhouses. They’re absolutely packed with fiber, essential fatty acids such as omega-3, B vitamins, antioxidants, and cancer-fighting lignans.

Dates — First off, they are a perfect healthy recipe substitution for sugar (and even butter in baking!).  They are also packed with fiber, which is essential for good heart and digestive health, and numerous vitamins and minerals including potassium, selenium, copper and magnesium

Lucuma — this nutritionally-dense superfood, pronounced loo-koo-mah, is a Peruvian fruit also known as the “Gold of the Incas”.  It is so popular in Peru that it’s the regions’ most popular ice cream flavor – even beyond vanilla and chocolate!  Comes available in a powdered form, by grinding down the fruit’s root.  Lucuma is a nutritionally-dense superfood that’s loaded with antioxidants like beta carotene and is also a quality source for complex carbohydrates, fiber, vitamins such as niacin (B3) and minerals such as zinc, calcium and iron.

Did you know the high content of vitamin B may boost brain power?!  How Kul is that!

Coconut oil — comes with numerous health benefits.  These benefits include healthier skin and hair, lower cholesterol levels, weight loss, increased levels of immunity, proper digestion and metabolism. It contains high levels of lauric acid, capric acid and caprylic acid and their presence contributes to coconuts antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, antimicrobial and general body nourishing properties.