Eating
Beetroot Energy Balls
Makes: 12 balls
Beetroot in a sweet snack? An unusual combination but it works! The earthy flavour of the beetroot combines perfectly with the natural sweetness of the dates and the hint of coconut gives these bites a subtle tropical tang. I had to experiment a few times to reach the perfect consistency but in the end they turned out great! The mixture is sticky enough to hold itself together, so shaping the balls will be very easy.
I usually meal prep these energy balls when having leftover beetroot after making amazing vegan beetroot falafels from Healthylicious. It is part of her book with Christmas recipes, so it’s not on her website but you can find many healthy and delicious meals on there as well.
What you’d need:
- 200g beetroot (raw)
- 80g oats
- 4 Tbsp (25g) coconut flakes
- 4 dates
- 60g tahini or other nut butter
How to make them:
- You need to start with the beetroot, as it takes longer to bake. Peel it, put it in the oven and bake for 30-40 minutes at 200℃. I usually prepare the rest of the ingredients and then continue with the recipe when the beetroot is ready.
- Make oat flour from your oats. Place them in a food processor and pulse until you reach a flour-like consistency. You can, of course, use store-bought oat flour but I find it extremely bitter in taste, so I prefer to make my own.
- Mix the oat flour with the coconut flakes in a large bowl and leave aside.
- Go back to your food processor and process the stoned dates into date paste. If they’re too dry or hard, you can soak them in hot water for 10 minutes beforehand. Leave aside after that.
- When the beetroot is done baking, place it (very carefully, because it will be very hot!) in the food processor and shred it into tiny pieces. The stated quantity is 200g of raw beetroot. After I baked it, I was left with 100g of cooked beetroot. This is just as a reference, in case you have some already cooked beetroot at home.
- Mix everything together: the oat flour & coconut flakes, the date paste & beetroot pieces and we also add the nut butter at this point. My boyfriend tried them with peanut butter, I used tahini. Feel free to experiment!
- As I said, the mixture is very easy to handle, so shape it into balls and put them in an airtight container in the fridge, if meal prepping, or enjoy straightaway!
In case you need me… #owlbeeeating!
