Salted Caramel Energy Balls

I think one of the things that I really link with my childhood in terms of food, is rolled oats energy balls or “havregrynskugler” in Danish. It was one of the first things I learned to make and something me and my sister made quite often….. And just to be clear we didn’t exactly make the healthy kind 😉 I think it had 4 or 5 ingredients, A ton of sugar, cacao, margarine, and oats of course.

My pinterest feed is always filled with one energy ball after another, and lately I have been craving those from my childhood. But lets face it, those are not exactly suitable for anybody on a low histamine diet. So instead here is an energy ball recipe with no cacao, no cane or beet sugar (often referred to as processed/refined sugar) and definitely no margarine (which in opinion is just processed unhealthy fake fat). It does have oats though…. in order to keep at least one ingredient from my childhood energy ball ;0)

This is a nut free, gluten free, vegan, refined sugar free (but that is a matter of definition), cacao free (for all of us dealing with HIT) version, which in my opinion is damn tasty. My two kids also approved it, even though my oldest would have preferred it to contain cacao (he is chocolate crazy that one ;)). I still wouldn’t go as far as calling it healthy, because it is very high in carbohydrates and sugar (fruit sugar, but no matter how you twist and turn it, it is still sugar). So you should just consider this a delicious treat 🙂 And what better day to treat your self than on Valentines day 🙂 Take care of your beautiful self.

Instead of sugar I used dates (medjool) and mesquite powder. Mesquite powder has a nutty, smoky, molasses-like flavor, with a hint of caramel. It is however important to note that mesquite powder is made from the leguminous pods of the mesquite tree, it is thus a legume. I haven’t reacted to it at all, and I know of other people with HIT who do fine with lupine flour (which is also a legume). But if the thought of legumes makes you nervous simply replace the mesquite powder with lucuma powder (made from the dried lucuma fruit) of coconut flower sugar. Both of which has less of a caramel taste than the mesquite powder. It is for sure worth a try 🙂

So here we go….. the recipe! Start with soaking the dates (depitted) in boiling or hot water for about 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile get your kitchen machine/food processor out and prepare all of the other ingredients. Place the following ingredients in your food processor; mesquite powder, tiger nut flour (can also be replaced with almond flour if you tolerate it), chia seeds, hemp protein powder, vanilla powder (not vanilla sugar, but pure vanilla powder, or use the vanilla seeds from 1/4 of a vanilla pod), and salt. Add the soaked dates together with about half of the soaking water (keep the rest of the water in case you need it later). Turn on the machine and let it do its work, until you have a thick sticky paste.

Place the rolled oats in a separate bowl, and add the date paste to it. Mix til you get a “dough” which sticks together and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore, see picture above. If you feel like the “dough” is too dry, add a bit extra of the soaking liquid. Now make small balls and roll them in desiccated coconut. Place the energy balls in the refrigerator to firm up a bit (about 15-30 minutes). This recipe makes between 15-18 small energy balls of about 2-3 cm in diameter. What you don’t eat right away, you can freeze for later. I hope that you will enjoy these as much as I did 🙂

Salted Caramel Energy Balls

• Author: Tania Surrow Larsen, The Histamine Friendly Kitchen
• Prep Time: 40 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 15-18 balls 1x

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Ingredients

• 6 medjool dates, pit removed
• 1/2 cup water (ca. 120 ml)
• 1 tbsp mesquite powder
• 1/4 cup tiger nut flour
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 tbsp hemp protein powder
• 1/4 tsp vanilla powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup rolled oats (for a grain free version use 1/4 cup desiccated coconut)
• 2 tbsp desiccated coconut

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Instructions

1. Start with soaking the dates (depitted) in 1/2 cup boiling or hot water for about 20-30 minutes.
2. Place the following ingredients in your food processor; mesquite powder, tiger nut flour, chia seeds, hemp protein powder, vanilla powder (not vanilla sugar, but pure vanilla powder, or use the vanilla seeds from 1/4 of a vanilla pod), and salt. Add the soaked dates together with about half (1/4 cup) of the soaking water* (keep the rest of the water in case you need it later). * Omit if you are making the grain free version.
3. Turn on the machine and let it do its work, until you have a thick sticky paste.
4. Place the rolled oats** in a separate bowl, and add the date paste to it. ** 1/4 cup desiccated coconut if you are making the grain free version.
5. Mix til you get a “dough” which sticks together and doesn’t stick to the sides of the bowl anymore, see picture above.
6. If you feel like the “dough” is too dry, add a bit extra of the soaking liquid.
7. Now make small balls and roll them in the desiccated coconut.
8. Place the energy balls in the refrigerator to firm up a bit (about 15-30 minutes).
9. This recipe makes between 15-18 small energy balls of about 2-3 cm in diameter. What you don’t eat right away, you can freeze for later. I hope that you will enjoy these as much as I did. The nutritional data is calculated based on eating 3 out of 18 balls, thus a sixth of this portion.