Choc Orange Almond Butter Energy Balls

These Chocolate Orange Almond Butter Balls are a perfectly balanced little afternoon snack. They’re loaded with healthy fats, protein and fibre to keep your energy up throughout the day, and they contain a powerful little ingredient – essential oil.

Who else experiences 3.30itis? That feeling mid-afternoon where your energy crashes and all you want to do is crawl into an ball and go to sleep. Maybe you start craving chocolate, or something (anything) sweet for a quick energy hit. I used to get that nearly every day, and I would always reach for the chocolate. Of course that didn’t actually help, it just made my energy crash worse an hour later, making me crave more chocolate and eventually driving me to munch my way through the entire block. Every. Single. Day.

It’s not exactly a healthy way to live. Not only did I notice how tired I felt at the end of the day, I also noticed I was feeling way more emotional. Little things agitated me, I felt like every day was the same routine and it was like a chore. It becomes an addictive cycle and can sometimes be really hard to pull yourself out of.

But of course, you can! Simply making a little change to your afternoon snack that is way more nutritious and wholesome can help you break the cycle and power through your afternoons.

Enter energy balls.

These little guys are awesome for beating that afternoon slump. They’re sweet, you can make them in nearly any flavour, and if you’re like me and looove chocolate (let’s be real, who doesn’t) then you can make them as chocolatey and as fudgy as you like! All whilst using perfectly healthy nutritious ingredients.

These Energy Balls contain protein and healthy fat to keep you full, complex carbohydrates to give you long-lasting energy, and various antioxidants which help prevent free-radical damage and fight inflammation.

Making a big batch of any form of energy balls or bliss balls is so convenient, especially if you work long hours or are always on the go and don’t have a lot of time to plan out your day’s food. They’re the perfect snack!

Now, let’s talk about essential oils. The delicious, strong orange flavour in these balls comes from a few drops of wild orange essential oil. Using essential oils in food is so easy, and not only do you get a powerful hit of flavour, but you also get all the amazing therapeutic benefits of that particular oil too. 

If you don’t use essential oils already or don’t know much about them, here is a brief little introduction.

Essential Oil Benefits

Essential oils are the powerful organic components of various parts of plants like flowers, fruits, leaves, etc. that are extracted and distilled into a high concentration pure oil full of all the amazing benefits of that particular plant. You can use essential oils in so many different ways, including diffusing them into the air, applying them to the skin, using them for household cleaning and some oils can be ingested. Essential oils have also shown to have powerful medicinal qualities, and are used by many as a holistic approach to aid in treating particular health concerns.

I highly recommend looking into them if it’s something that interests you, some of my favourite oils include: peppermint oil for a natural headache remedy, lavender oil for it’s calming effect and promoting a restful sleep, and of course orange oil so you can make these delicious energy balls!

I’ve used Wild Orange Essential Oil in this recipe, which is from doTERRA Essential Oils. You don’t have to use this particular brand, but it you are using another brand just make sure it is definitely food grade. Some oils can be harmful to ingest which is why it’s crucial to look at the label first and make sure it says it is safe to consume. One of the reasons I love using the doTERRA oils is because the labels are very clear, and it tells you exactly how each particular oil can be used on the bottle. 

If you’re not familiar with using essential oils and you are going to purchase some to try out, the one thing to make sure of is that the brand you choose says their oils are either ‘certified organic’ or ‘certified therapeutic grade’. If they don’t state this then chances are the oil is not 100% pure and may have been over-processed and lost a lot of their therapeutic properties.

With all that said, I hope you enjoy this recipe and are inspired to try essential oils for yourself, whether it be in food or otherwise.

5 from 1 vote

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Chocolate Orange Almond Butter Balls

Course Snack

Prep Time 10 minutes

Servings 16 balls

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup chocolate protein powder
• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 tbsp cacao powder
• 1 tbsp honey
• 6 drops wild orange essential oil or any other food safe orange essential oil
• 1/4 cup oats
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• chia seeds optional

Instructions

1. In a large bowl combine almond butter and honey. Add protein powder, cacao, oats and cinnamon and mix until just combined. Take care not to over-mix as the balls can become tough. 

2. Add the essential oil and gently work into mixture, you may need to use your hands.

3. Scoop tablespoon amounts of the mixture and roll into balls. Optional: roll in chia seeds for extra crunch.

4. Refrigerate for approx. 1hr to allow the balls to firm up slightly. Store in the fridge in an airtight container.