Gingerbread Power Balls

Power balls are energy-producing and micronutrient-dense bites designed to fuel athletic endeavors -- including holiday gift shopping! Choose your favorite nuts and seeds as the base, then add oats, dates, and almond butter for healthy fats and carbs. Blend all the ingredients in a heavy-duty food processor to make a ‘dough’ that’s easy to roll into balls or slice into bars.

Utilize the bulk bins at your local health food store to buy the exact quantity of ingredients you need. Power balls and bites are increasingly popular as ready-made snacks, but they’re much cheaper to make at home. When you make them yourself, you can customize the ingredients and flavors to suit your preferences or add variety to your diet. 

The gingerbread flavor in this recipe comes from a combination of warming spices including allspice and cinnamon, plus a tablespoon of blackstrap molasses. Blackstrap molasses is “rich in a variety of essential minerals including iron, zinc, selenium, magnesium and potassium as well as the majority of the vitamin B complex.” (1) It also happens to give gingerbread its signature complex flavor. 

Whip up a batch of power balls to keep on hand for a quick and  fiber-rich snack. You’ll feel like you’re enjoying a seasonal dessert, and your body will appreciate the extra boost of nutrition and carbohydrates. (2, 3)

Ingredients (Click here to print!)

• 1 cup raw pumpkin seeds, pecans, or walnuts 

• 1 cup old-fashioned oats

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• ¼ teaspoon allspice

• ¼ teaspoon cardamom

• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg

• 10 pitted dried dates

• 1 cup almond butter 

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil, melted

• 1/3 cup brown rice syrup

• 1 tablespoon molasses 
  

Instructions

Step 1:

Preheat the oven to 350°F and spread seeds or nuts on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast for 6-8 minutes, or until fragrant and slightly darkened. Cool completely. 

Step 2:

In a high-powered food processor, pulse together toasted seeds or nuts, oats, and spices until the mixture resembles coarse flour. Add dates and continue pulsing until thick paste forms. Add almond butter, brown rice syrup, and molasses and pulse again to form a dough. 

Step 3:

Use a tablespoon-sized cookie scoop to portion out the mixture, and roll each portion into a ball. Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to four weeks. 

How did these turn out for you? We’d love to hear your feedback below!

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Bridgit Danner, LAc, FDNP, is an acupuncturist turned functional health coach and has worked with thousands of clients since 2004.

She is the founder of FunctionalDetoxProducts.com and the author of The Ultimate Guide to Toxic Mold Recovery: Take Back Your Home Health & Life, available in audiobook, Kindle and paperback on Amazon.

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