These little “globes” are packed with nutrients to keep you fueled and energized throughout the day.
Spirulina Energy Globes are something I’ve been making for years, yet they went unnamed for quite some time. These little “globes” are packed with nutrients, especially minerals to keep you fueled and energized throughout the day…enough to plant some trees for Earth Day, right? Right! To celebrate Earth Day, which is Monday April 22nd, I thought I would fuse together the ingredient of the week, spirulina into my favorite quick snack, a variation of energy balls (at least, that’s what I like to refer them too). They’re basically my take on a homemade Larabar, which is a popular nut and dried fruit bar, only with a boost of nutrients and protein.
Spirulina Energy Globes is a great way to first introduce spirulina to most people, it’s an uncommon food wrapped into something very common and delicious, a truffle! Spirulina is naturally blue-green in color which created a beautiful deep teal color when mixed with dates, nuts, and cocoa powder– it’s also a great way to “disguise” this blue-green algae for the little ones or anyone else who has an aversion to greens! They’re chewy, sweet, and rich in flavor and in plant-based protein.
Nutrition in Spirulina Energy Globes |
- Vitamins | A, E, rich in B vitamins
- Minerals | almost all ingredients are “good” sources (containing 10-19% of the daily value), if not “great” sources (>20% of the daily value) of the following minerals.
- Iron
- Zinc
- Potassium
- Copper
- Phosphorus
- Magnesium
- Manganese
- Calcium
- Selenium
- Antioxidants | from each ingredient!
- Fiber | contains both soluble and insoluble from all ingredients, especially the flax seeds and dried fruits
- Healthy fats | omega-3 and omega-6 from the nuts, seeds, almond butter, raw cocoa powder, and shredded coconut
- Protein | contains all essential amino acids from nuts, seeds, almond butter, and of course the mighty spirulina powder
I love how portable these “globes” are, typically I’ll take them with me in little snack size bags or in a small tupperware container for a quick snack on the go. They’re also great to enjoy with a little almond milk for a not-so-sweet dessert. These energy “globes” are more of a snack, as mentioned above, than a dessert. If you would like to make this recipe more sweet, I suggest adding stevia or even a little local honey. This is a simple recipe (I’m all about keeping it simple), and feel free to replace nuts/seeds or dried fruit with ones you prefer, experiment and have fun!
TIP // if you have an allergy to any particular nut/seed or the coconut in this recipe you can easily substitute it for a different type of nut or seed. The coconut can be completely eliminated if needed or if you just don’t enjoy coconut… I happen to have a huge crush on coconut and try to put it in any recipe I can!
- 1 cup organic raw almonds
- 1 cup organic dates, soaked (keep 3-4 Tbs. of the water you soaked the dates in)
- 1/4 cup dried apricots
- 1/4 cup pistachio nuts
- 1/4 cup organic raw almond butter
- 2 tablespoon ground flax seed
- 2 heaping tablespoons raw cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons of shredded coconut into the mixture (have 2-3 tablespoons for rolling)
- 1 tablespoon organic spirulina
- 1 teaspoon celtic sea salt (or other sea salt varieties)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Combine all the nuts and seeds in a food processor or high speed blender to pulse until broken down (you can choose to leave some chunks or pulse until fine).
- Pour the processed almonds, pistachios, and flax seed into a large mixing bowl.
- In a high speed blender or food processor, combine softened dates and apricots.
- Add the nut/seed mixture with the dates/apricots into the blender.
- Combine until the mixture resembles a sticky, thick “batter”.
- Place the combined mixture into a large mixing bowl and fold the remaining ingredients manually (that’s right, get those hands messy…really messy!)
- Place the “batter” into the freezer for about 10 minutes or until cooled.
- Take a Tbs. or a small ice-cream scooper to measure the batter.
- Gently roll the Tbs. of “batter” into your hands until a small ball forms.
- Once you have formed all the “batter” into small balls, you may roll them into the 2-3 Tbs. of shredded coconut (this is optional)
- Store in the refrigerator for 2-3 days OR you may keep them in the freezer and grab and go for a quick snack.
- Enjoy!
I hope you enjoy these little globe snacks as much as I do, I had a taste test with a group of lovely ladies and I received an official stamp of approval! Comment below if you replaced any nut/seeds/other ingredient with something you preferred, I’d love to hear how they turned out! I wish you all a wonderful day and give a loving reminder to treat this place we call home well and be kind to one another.
Happy Earth Day lovelies!
xo McKel
