Energy Oat Balls
1 simple recipe, 5 easy ways (coconut & matcha; PB & raspberry; black sesame & chai; smoky cinnamon; raw cacao crunch)
Hello troop. Welcome back!
I’m so looking forward to introducing you to this week’s back-to-school and back-to-work energy balls. They are outrageously tasty, and seriously good fuel for our gut microbes. If you fancy learning more about this real estate of microbial activity inside each of us, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation with Dr Deanna Minich and Dhru Purohit …
But first, a huge wave to my new subscribers - it’s really lovely to have you here. Thanks for joining up, and fueling this Substack space. It’s readers like you who pinball me around my kitchen, and give wings to my saucepans.
And if you’re totally new to Taking the Hell out of Healthy, you’ll quickly find that cleaning up your diet needn’t involve ceremonial chanting, burning fields of sage, or sculling mushroom smoothies. Each month I’ll take you through some simple steps to improve your shopping list and supercharge your supper. We could all improve our diets, but we don’t have to sacrifice our personality or our taste buds. Let’s get started!
Instead of scarfing biscuits mid morning, these energy oat balls will have you feeling fabulous, and fizzing around the office faster than the orb of an asteroid.
Each energy ball is singing with a consignment of vitamin E, brain-nourishing omega-3, and heart healthy beta glucans. Their rich stores of fibre mean that they break down slowly in our digestive system, drip-feeding our tank so that we don't run on empty. They won’t give you the highs and lows associated with sugared-up confectionery, making them excellent choices for turbulent teens, anxious cabinet ministers, aspiring athletes, and anyone working with children.
Fibre is also associated with lower cholesterol levels and beautiful bowels, so don't forget to put them within grandpa's reach.
There are two types of fibre chillaxing inside each oat flake and chia seed. Soluble fibre is a gift for the gut, helping to normalise bowel movements and balance blood sugar levels. It works by improving congestion and reducing transit time like a tenacious traffic warden.
The other type of fibre is insoluble, and has the ability to feed our inner metropolis of beneficial bacteria. Think of it as fertiliser for our gut microbes. We like.
Kids love them too!
Yep! I asked a paediatrician what the most common condition children presented with each week at ER. The answer? Constipation. Gastroenterologists – the specialists who look after our pipes - recommend that children ideally get around 25g of dietary fibre every day. These oat balls will help your little one do exactly that. Expect bowel movements to be practically Instagrammable.
Plus, they are nut-free for their school lunchboxes.
Below, I’ve provided a ‘base’ recipe, and five really fabulous variations; black sesame & chai; raw cacao crunch; PB & raspberry; cinnamon; Matcha & coconut. There’s also a nifty PDF version for you to save or print. And since this post has no paywall today, you can share with your pals and colleagues by clicking below …
Matcha is not to everyone’s taste, but we love it for its unrivaled chemistry. Matcha is a type of powdered green tea, humming with legendary L-theanine. This amino acid, beloved of celebrity neuroscientist Prof. Andrew Huberman, has shown to help improve sleep and reduce anxiety. Taking a closer look, we see that theanine tickles a neurotransmitter called GABA, responsible for calming the brain. Yes please. (Let’s presume consumption is not at night, however).
There’s also some evidence to suggest our favourite feel-good chemical, dopamine, is triggered by theanine. So you get a sweet hit from these Matcha energy balls, followed by a GABA riff, and maybe even a dose of dopamine. You're welcome!
There are LOADS more snack ideas and kitchen tutorials in my Substack recipe index (just click here). My wholefood caramel square recipe is still winning the top download spot. But these flapjacks are lunchbox friendly, and road-trip worthy (paywall removed so go ahead and share the recipe with your special pals and peeps).
Until next time!
Love, light, and sassy snacks,
SJ
x
// Energy Oat Balls//
The base:
75g-90g organic Irish oats
3 tablespoons milled chia seed
4 tablespoons maple syrup
5 tablespoons runny tahini
Generous smattering of flaky sea salt
#1 Black sesame & chai spice:
Use the original base recipe, with a snifter of ground chai spice. Then roll in black sesame seeds and a little flaky sea salt. You could also open up a teabag of non-caffeinated chai tea, and use that in place of ground spice.
#2 Smoky cinnamon:
Add 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon to the oats. Replace the regular sea salt with smoky sea salt flakes . And roll each oat ball into coconut sugar, to coat.
#3 Matcha & coconut:
Reduce the oats to 50g. Then add 2 teaspoons of ceremonial Matcha powder and 3 tablespoons desiccated coconut to the oats and before blitzing into a fine powder in a blender or coffee grinder.
Add 1 teaspoon of good vanilla powder or vanilla bean paste to the wet ingredients. Agave nectar is a better choice than maple syrup when using Matcha. Chicory root syrup seizes up in this recipe, so not an option I’m afraid. You may need to increase the agave to 5 tablespoons, depending on the strength of your Matcha. Taste and see.
Roll in desiccated coconut. Ta-dahh!
#4 PB & raspberry:
Replace the tahini with your favourite crunchy peanut butter.
Add 3 tablespoons of freeze dried raspberries to 70g of oats and blitz into a powder. Freeze dried raspberries are intense, and release no water. They are fabulous in oat balls, and can be nabbed in select Tesco stores for 3€ in the gluten-free aisle.
You can also replace the milled chia with whole flaxseed, for a cult-classic Rua vibe. (Not to be blitzed into a flour with the oats and freeze dried raspberries). Coat the balls in melted dark chocolate, and decorate with a little more freeze dried raspberries.
#5 Raw Cacao Crunch
Use 70g of oats and 1 tablespoon of cacao powder. When mixing in the wet ingredients, add a good smattering of cacao nibs and extra flaky salt. Dip in melted dark chocolate, and decorate with more cacao nibs. Feel free to sneak in your favourite protein powder too, but just remember to reduce the amount of oats to keep it constant. Dried edible petals are awesome to decorate (blue cornflower, yellow marigold, pink rose). You can whizz the dried flower petals in a coffee grinder to create a magical flower dust.
Step 1
To make the original recipe, pulse your oats and milled chia into a flour using a blender or a coffee grinder. I find that whole chia seeds tend to get stuck in teeth, and so we favour milled chia for this recipe.
Step 2
In a medium sized bowl, beat together the tahini, maple and salt (and whatever version you are choosing to follow) until luscious and sticky.
Step 3
Mash most of the blitzed oat mix with the wet mixture, and leave aside to soak for 30 minutes. If it’s really sticky, add the remaining mixture. This will largely depend on the absorbancy of the chia, oats and how runny the tahini is. Any oat ‘flour’ you are not using can be added back into your bag of porridge oats, and used to make porridge as usual.
Step 4
Now roll into lots of oat balls. Tumble the batch of oat balls into a bowl of coconut sugar or desiccated coconut (or sumptuous dark chocolate). Shake to coat. Return to the fridge to set, and pillage at will.
