Energy Snack Bites

I have always craved chocolate and carbohydrates. Unfortunately sugar is not my friend as it causes inflammatory pain. It took me many years to figure this out. If you have chronic pain you might want to read the next few paragraphs… If not skip down to the last paragraph.

It is widely believed that those with chronic pain, Systemic Lupus and all autoimmune conditions have leaky gut. Leaky gut is an unhealthy gut lining that has large cracks or holes, allowing partially digested food, toxins, and bugs to penetrate the tissues beneath it. This process triggers inflammation throughout the body. Research has demonstrated that high sugar diets lead to leaky-gut. Therefore maintaining a low-carbohydrate diet is beneficial to healing leaky-gut. https://www.functionalmedicinefortcollins.com/

There is a lot of information available about leaky gut and the gut microbiome. If you have a chronic health condition I recommend researching both. My own research and experience has taught me how important it is to avoid processed sugar in my recipes.

I have had to learn to satisfy my sweet tooth with anti-inflammatory recipes that use unprocessed sweeteners that won’t cause my blood sugar to spike. As it is the spike in blood sugar the triggers the inflammatory process. Stevia, honey, coconut nectar, dates, monk fruit and maple syrups work well for me and so I use these processed-free sweeteners in my recipes.

That was a long introduction to these small sweet low-carbohydrate treats. These Energy Snack Balls help to satisfy sweet cravings, are simple to make and are easily frozen for a grab-and-go kind of day. They are great energy boosting snacks for that slump in the day, for athletes or low carb after-school snacks for kids. This recipe is adapted from The Quick and Easy Paleo Cookbook by Dr. Keesha Ewers.

Energy Snack Balls

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Jackie’s Veggie Kitchen Course: Dairy-free, Dessert, Gluten-free, Low-carbohydrate, Processed Sugar-free, Snack, Vegan, VegetarianDifficulty: Easy

Servings

15

servings

Prep time

20

minutes

Cooking time

0

minutes

Ingredients

• 1 cup Sunflower Seed Butter

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds

• 3 Tbs. coconut nectar

• 1/2 cup ground flax seeds

• 1 cup unsweetened small shred coconut

• 1/2 cup pre-cooked dried quinoa

Directions

• Grind sunflower seeds in blender or small food processor
• In a small mixing bowl add seed butter and coconut syrup, stir well.
• Add rest of ingredients, stir well to combine.
• Form into balls, place in airtight container and refrigerate.

Notes

• Make a double batch of these just to have a healthy filling snack on hand. Two is plenty for a snack… you won’t need more than that as they are filling.
• For a variation try adding 2 Tbs. raw cacao and 1 extra Tbs. coconut syrup.
• For a variation try rolling in unsweetened shred coconut.

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