If you seek a decadent alternative option to refined sugars, enjoy the chocolate and grapefruit taste sensation that is our Chef Donna McLuskie’s goji berry energy balls! Recipe as follows:

1/4 cup goji berries

1 cup walnuts or pecans, blended/finely chopped

1 tablespoon sparkling water

1 tablespoon almond butter

½ cup frozen blueberries

5 tablespoons of cocoa or cacao powder

½ cup porridge oats 

1 teaspoon hulled hempseed for topping

STEP 1

Whizz together the frozen blueberries, almond butter and water (and the goji berries if they are not soft). If your nut dust is not as fine as you would like, then whizz it with this mixture as well. Otherwise, just add the nut dust with the other ingredients below.

STEP 2

Place this mixture in a bowl and add 4 tablespoons of the cocoa or cacao powder and the rest of the ingredients. Mix all together. Shape this mixture into small balls about 25mm or 1” diameter. You will probably end up with around 16 energy balls of this size.

STEP 3

In a sealable container, place 1 tablespoon of cocoa or cacao powder. Carefully add the energy balls, stopping to close the container and shake gently to cover the balls with the powder before continuing to add more of the balls (so that they don’t stick together). Store the finished product in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to five days.

STEP 4

To serve, place some energy balls in a bowl and top with grapefruit segments (kudos to Chef Clive for highlighting this incredibly delicious taste combination), and pour over some of the juice. Sprinkle with cocoa or cacao powder (and some hulled hempseed for an extra energy boost, if desired).

All mentioned ingredients are available at Daily Bread Co-operative Cambridge. Find our product list here.