Healthy Snacks - Energy Balls

If you are looking for a quick after school or late afternoon snack, you can't go wrong with these delicious energy balls. The oatmeal energy balls contain one of my favorite pairings - chocolate and peanut butter, while the Pistachio energy balls have dates, coconut, honey and oats mixed in with the nuts. Both not only taste great, but are healthy too.

From: https://togetherasfamily.com these oatmeal energy balls require only 4 ingredients!

Oatmeal Energy Balls

 3 cups quick oats

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

1/2 cup honey

Instructions

1. Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl and stir together until well combined. You can either stir by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula OR use a hand mixer and beat on LOW speed until combined. Increasing speed as needed.
2. The mixture is thick so it will take a few minutes to fully mix it all together.
3. Roll into balls. I use a small cookie scoop to get even sized energy balls, which holds about 1 tablespoon of the energy ball dough.

TIP: If you are having difficulty getting the mixture to roll into a ball, try pressing the energy ball dough between your fingers (to loosen it up/warm it up) and then roll into a ball.

TIP: If the energy ball dough is too sticky, which it will be naturally as there is honey in it, try refrigerating for about 20 minutes to see if that helps.

Eat right away or you can refrigerate if you want to serve them cold. They should be in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.

Store leftovers in the fridge, in a covered container, for several days.

This Pistachio energy ball recipe is courtesy of Steve Jackson for Food Network Kitchen. 

Pistachio Energy Balls

1 heaping cup shelled raw pistachios

1 1/2 teaspoons vegetable oil

Kosher salt

1/3 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup finely chopped pitted dates (4 to 6 dates)

1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/4 cup honey

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375˚ F. Spread the pistachios on a baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, 8 to 10 minutes. Immediately transfer to a food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Remove and set aside 2 tablespoons of the chopped pistachios for coating. NOTE: I used roasted and salted pistachios so I skipped toasting them, and finely chopped them in the food processor. 
2. Add the vegetable oil and a big pinch of salt to the remaining pistachios in the food processor. Process, scraping down the sides as needed, until the pistachios start to clump, then continue processing until creamy and smooth, up to 10 minutes total.
3. Scrape the pistachio mixture into a medium bowl and add the oats, dates, coconut and honey. Beat with a mixer on medium-high speed until combined. (I mixed by hand)
4. Roll the mixture into 3/4- to 1-inch balls (you should get 12 to 15 balls). Roll in the reserved chopped pistachios. Set on a plate and refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.