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Chocolate Mint Energy Balls are here to save the day! They are these lovely little chocolaty, minty, slightly gooey balls that taste almost like dessert, but they are perfectly acceptable to have first thing in the morning, before breakfast. They are packed with ingredients that will give you plenty of lasting energy (as the name suggests).
Guys, I get it: life is hectic. Weekday mornings are even more hectic as you try to get your workout in before you get yourself cleaned and dressed and presentable for the world and then you dash out the door. This is when you need a Chocolate Mint Energy Ball in your life! I am not saying they replace a balanced breakfast; you should definitely eat some eggs or something. But they are there for you, for the moments when you are on the verge of becoming hangry because it’s morning and your stomach is empty but you are trying to do too many things like make breakfast for you and/or your kids, or blow-dry your hair, or go for a quick run, and you just NEED something in your stomach RIGHT NOW! That’s when these Chocolate Mint Energy Balls are your best friend.
Really, pop one in your mouth and just like that your stomach stops rumbling, your hangry irrational self that no one loves is tamed and the real you returns. You now have the gumption and the brain power to continue doing what needs to be done so that you can start your day. Go ahead, go for that morning jog/gym workout/swim/yoga/walk and know that you will make it home alive and be able to sit down to a big, nice, hot breakfast. Go ahead, finish putting on your makeup or whatever it was you were doing before you became hangry and just NEEDED FOOD NOW or you would bite someone’s head off!!! Trust me, I have been there; I know the feeling. Together, with these Chocolate Mint Energy Balls, we can do this, we can make it through our morning! Go us!!
I am not huge into meal prepping for the week mostly because I just can’t envision spending my Sunday stuck in the kitchen cooking all day long when I already spend so many days cooking up a storm for the blog ( if you meal prep every week then you rock. Please show me your ways!). BUT these Chocolate Mint Energy Balls – or some other flavor of energy balls – are the one thing that I make every Sunday. You see, I truly enjoy doing some kind of workout in the morning (walk/run/yoga/bike) before breakfast, because it starts my day off on the right foot. And when you have a home office you just NEED to do something. Otherwise you feel like you walked from bed to office and sat back down and BLAH! But, I am a person who needs food in my belly within 15 minutes of waking up and absolutely before any sort of workout is going to happen. These Chocolate Mint Energy Balls are just what I need first thing in the morning. They are my pre-breakfast snack. They are packed with protein, complex carbs, and healthy fats. One or two are just enough to fuel me for my run! If I wake up with plans to go for a two mile run and find that I am out of energy balls, I literally start to have a tantrum : Oh, crap! I don’t have any energy balls? Now my morning is ruined! I can’t go for my run and then I am going to have a bad day and my life SUCKS!!!! Oh, hey, there are some almonds over here. Guess I’ll eat those. Guys, that’s not a pretty picture. Just for the record almonds are never as satisfying as a Chocolate Mint Energy Ball, those babies are my hero!
The best thing is that these Chocolate Mint Energy Balls are so easy to make that you won’t even feel stressed about it on Sunday (unless you do what I did and break your glass mixing bowl by accidentally dropping it on your slate kitchen floor and shattering it into a million pieces, having to clean up the mess and throw away your energy ball batter you just made – then it’s totally stressful and very sad – but I doubt that will happen to you). You simply put a few ingredients into a bowl: flaxseed meal, shredded coconut (unsweetened, of course), oats, mini chocolate chips, cinnamon, cocoa powder, almond butter, honey, vanilla extract and, of course, peppermint extract. Mix everything together really well (clean hands work best), chill the batter in the fridge/freezer, and then roll it into cute little life-saving balls of minty, chocolaty goodness waiting for you when Monday morning comes around!
One more thing: I know I talk about eating these Chocolate Mint Energy Balls in the morning, but they are also great for an afternoon snack, in a chilled lunch box, or as a healthy dessert after dinner. Also, out of all of the energy balls that I have made, this is the variety I come back to most often, because chocolate + mint, duh!
Chocolate Mint Energy Balls (V + GF)
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 20 mins
- Yield: 24 small balls 1x
- Category: Breakfast, Snack, Dessert
- Cuisine: Gluten Free, Vegetarian
Description
Chocolate Mint Energy Balls make a great pre-breakfast snack, or mid-afternoon snack. They even make a healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth. They are simple and easy to make, and they last in your fridge for up to a week.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup flax seed meal
- 2/3 cup shredded coconut (unsweetened)
- 1 cup gluten free steel cut oats
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 to 3 tablespoons cocoa powder or cacao powder
- 1/2 cup almond butter (can sub sunflower butter or cashew or any other nut/seed butter that is mild in flavor)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
Instructions
- To a medium-sized mixing bowl add all ingredients. Use a strong spatula to mix all ingredients together (I find it is faster and easier to use my clean hands to mix the ingredients).
- Cover and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes or the freezer for 15 minutes. Trust me, you don’t want to skip this step; otherwise the dough is too sticky to work with and becomes very frustrating.
- After the dough has chilled use your hands to roll it into balls about the size of 1 to 2 tablespoons. I don’t measure; I just eyeball them. I usually prefer the smaller balls.
- Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week, maybe a little longer, but they tend to dry out after 1 week. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.
- The energy balls are best when they are straight out of the fridge but they are fine when they are at room temperature for 20 minutes or so.
Notes
Prep time does not reflect time needed to chill the dough.
In the photo with all of the ingredients I have pictured sunflower butter because that’s what I had on hand but almond butter is my favorite for this recipe. As I listed in the ingredients you could also use cashew butter, or any other seed/nut butter that is mild in flavor.
Recipe adapted from my Chai Spiced Raw Energy Balls
Nutrition Facts are based on 1 small ball per serving. I usually eat 2 before a work out.
Check out these other tasty Energy ball recipes:
Chai Spiced Raw Energy Balls
Blueberry Almond Energy Balls
Almond Joy Raw Energy Balls
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