Vegan Hemp Energy Balls

Y’all I’m loving on some hemp products lately because hemp is packed with protein, fiber and healthy fats (omega 3 and omega 6)! These hemp energy balls are vegan, gluten free and sugar free. The sweetness in these are provided by dates. My daughter was licking the spoon and saying “nom” haha! These are great for toddlers and babies (6m+)! If you are serving these to a baby I recommend NOT rolling them in the ground pecans, in case there is a piece too large (could be a choking hazard). The best thing about these is that you don’t have to bake them! These are also best stored in the fridge.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup gluten free oats

1/4 cup hemp protein powder (or another unsweetened protein powder of your choice)

8-10 medjool dates, pitted (depends how sweet you like them)

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tbsp ground flax seeds

1 cup almond butter

1 cup pecans (ground) for rolling

Directions:

1. In a food processor grind your pecans (or your nut of choice). This is simply for garnish/rolling your energy balls in the nuts, as the dough can be quite sticky. This doesn’t have to be finely ground, you can have small and larger pieces! Dump the pecans in a small bowl and set it off to the side.
2. Add all your ingredients for the energy balls into the same food processor, except for the almond butter. Process everything for about 5 seconds or until your dates are completely processed into little pieces. You want all the big chunks of dates broken down. This might take a few more pulses and scraping the sides of your food processor down.
3. Once all of your ingredients are well incorporated, add in your almond butter. You should have a fairly sticky dough after a few pulses. This also depends on how oily your almond butter is. Start with a 1/2 cup of almond butter if yours is pretty thick.
4. Roll your dough into golf size balls and place on a baking sheet. Then roll each energy ball into the ground pecans that you processed earlier. Put the energy balls in the fridge for 30 mins to firm up a bit. This should make about 12!

Enjoy! Comment below if you make these.