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Sesame Superfood Energy Bites

Carob! Maca! Sesame! Sunflower! Dates! These superfood bites promise to give you super-human strength, agility, cognitive abilities, and even omnipotence… Okay, none of that is true. But they are really, really tasty. 🙂

The casual eater might think these bites are made with chocolate, but tastes can be deceiving… Instead, these guys call for carob, which is similar to cocoa, but it comes from an entirely different bean. It has a natural sweetness (so you need less sweetener, or in this case, no sweetener at all) and contains no caffeine. Compared to chocolate, the taste is both sweeter and more bitter at the same time and I absolutely love it. It works so well with the other flavors in this recipe.

Have you picked out your superhero name yet? You’re gonna need it soon…

Superfood Bites

Makes about 12 energy bites

Ingredients:

  • 18 small dates
  • 3 tablespoons almond butter
  • 3 tablespoons carob powder
  • 3 tablespoons sunflower seeds
  • 3 teaspoons maca root powder
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • Pinch of salt
  • sesame seeds, for coating

Sesame_Balls_Bite

Step One

Add the dates, almond butter, sunflower seeds, maca powder, and salt to a food processor and process until it’s a solid, gooey ball. Only then do you add the carob powder… why? Otherwise, the powder will atomize inside the processor and find its way onto every inch of your kitchen. I’ve made that mistake twice. So, once the other ingredients are processed, add half the carob powder and pulse, then the final half until well mixed. Finally, add the slivered almonds and pulse until incorporated but not completely ground.

Step Two

At this point, test out a sampling of the dough and try to roll it into a ball with your hands. If it is too crumbly, feel free to add a little extra almond butter and/or water to the food processor as needed until the mixture is just gooey enough to be rolled. One time, they came out perfect without any water. Another, I had to add 1/4 cup. It happens. When they’re just right, roll each into a ball about 1/2+ inch in diameter.

Step Three

This final step is the hardest and most time-consuming one. While the bites are still warm and soft from being processed and rolled, dip each one into a bowl of sesame seeds and repeatedly press the seeds into the outside so that they stick. It will take a little bit of practice and, if they become too hard, you can pop them in the microwave for a few seconds to soften.

Sesame_Balls_Close

Sesame_Balls_Hand

12 Comments

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  1. I have been looking to find easy-to-pack (and yummy) treats that will give me energy and not melt for when I go kayaking. These are perfecto! And I LOVE dates!!!
    Thanks!

    • That’s great, Amber! I actually took these on a trip with me last week and they held up great all day, so I’m sure they would be an ideal snack to take kayaking.

    • Ah, you shouldn’t need to replace the maca, Citra. It’s only a tablespoon and is mainly just for health benefits — feel free to omit it altogether. 🙂

  2. Thanks for the recipe it’s great for bringing to work as an easy snack. Just wondering where you would recommend storing them? Mine turned out on the gooey/soft side so I was thinking putting them in the refrigerator for a few hours would help them firm up for easier transport later?

  3. Hi, these look great! Do you have any recommendations without dates? I’m trying to reduce my overall sugar intake, and there is an awful lot of fructose in dates.

    • Definitely! I think I made these during the one and only time in my life when I had carob powder, haha, it’s such a random ingredient. just use cocoa/cacao 🙂

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