These coconut nut balls are perfect for on the go snacking and full of healthy fats and protein. Decadent enough for dessert, healthy enough for breakfast.
It has been entirely too long since the last “ball” recipe graced this blog and what better time to bust one out than a 4 day jaunt to California this week? If I had to give this work trip a hashtag it would be #fueledbyballs.
I’ve got 10 of these nutty delights individually wrapped and shoved in my bag for the week. A girl should never be without her balls.
Eating healthy on the road is enough of a challenge.
Eating paleo on the road is akin to trying not to be annoyed at the person in the seat behind you on an airplane using your seat as a punching bag for a 6 hour flight.
So far, (1 day into this trip) I’ve spent $32 at Balducci’s in JFK purchasing a roast beef sandwich to dissect and use the meat on top of the $9 mixed greens salad, a fruit bowl for $6, a V8 (I’ve never had a legit, no fruit, just tomato, original V8 before yesterday. It was…interesting) and a 10pm second dinner of a meat + gauc + veggie bowl from Chipotle.
It would’ve been way easier to grab a couple carb fest baguette sandwiches and call it lunch/dinner/second dinner like I normally would’ve and be done with the meals but I’m hanging on for the last few days of this self-imposed challenge (all bets are off in Italy later this month).
Hence, the balls.
They’re paleo friendly, filled with nuts, coconut and coconut butter (alternatively named coconut crack in my house) and perfect for snacking.
They were also made 1 hour before discovering the beetle infestation in the pantry.
Thankfully, the beetles seemed to only be in the grain-like stuff, not the nuts. And if I’m wrong about that, they’re chopped up small enough from the food processor that I can’t tell and they happen to go really well with coconut.
I have a few energy bite go-to recipes like these oat almond and date bites or these peanut butter chocolate chip bites but these coconut nut balls are now on that list too for their ease and delicious taste!
Coconut Nut Balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup cashews
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup raisins, or dried cherries soaked in hot water for 5 minutes
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, plus another 1/4 cup for rolling (optional)
- 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- cinnamon to taste, about 1/4 teaspoon
- 11/2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon coconut butter
Instructions
- Combine all three nuts in a food processor and pulse a few times until they are finely chopped.
- Add remaining ingredients (except additional 1/4 cup coconut flakes for rolling) to the food processor and process until the mixture comes together and starts to stick. This will only take about 1 minute.
- Transfer mixture to a small bowl.
- Pour remaining coconut flakes into a dish.
- Roll nut mixture into balls using your hands then place in the dish and roll in coconut flakes.
- You can eat them as is or transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate to firm them up a bit.
- Once refrigerated for about an hour, they can be wrapped up individually for easy snacking.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Can you please tell me roughly how much protein per ball is in these? I need to know as I am measuring my macros and these look delish!!
Hi Michelle- I don’t calculate the nutritional information for the recipes on here. If you’d like to so you can see how they fit into your macros, just plug the recipe into one of the online calculators. There are plenty out there that will do that for you.
Big yes to these balls. Minus the beetles! ;)