Ever have chocolate orange as a kid? Still partial to a little chocolate orange now? Here's the Cleaned up version: Chocolate Date energy balls with orange. They're bursting with orangey flavor, packed full of sweet dates and they're really really chocolaty. These Real food energy bites are going to change snack time forever!

Chocolate Date Energy Balls

Energy balls have been popular for a while now, for good reason. I can't think of another snack that's so easy to make, takes no time at all, doesn't need to be baked in the oven and you just know the kids are gonna love.

I make these bliss balls often and this recipe here is one you can add flavorings to, and really turn them into a special treat for the kids while staying on the Clean eating bandwagon!

I've used orange extract in these. I buy the best quality one I can find, but I usually end up ordering orange extract off Amazon and this is one I've used before. Don't worry too much about the extract if the one you have is somewhat less than Clean, I don't use vast quantities of the stuff in this recipe, and it's so full of goodness elsewhere, I'd be prepared to let a little orange extract slide :)

Nut Free

While none of my kids have nut allergies, many many kids do. And if you're looking for a nut free energy ball, these night be just what you're looking for. Nuts are frequently used in energy, or bliss balls because they're nutritious and the oils released when you blend them help the balls bind together well. These energy balls rely on the dates and oats to bind, meaning you can get all the yum without the nuts!

Ingredients

The thing I love about energy balls like these is that they're so simple to make and they use Whole food ingredients. Many of the snacks I used to let the kids have when they were smaller would typically have little or no nutrition in them and in all honesty I didn't pay it much attention. Hmm.

These days I'm happy to have snacks on hand, but on the whole I'll make sure there's good nutritional values to them alongside deliciousness. There is no need to have one without the other. Phew!

Dates

We're huge date fans here. Huge. Not only are they 'natures candy', which they truly are, but they have a whole host of health benefits to them:

High in fiber
High in antioxidants
Calcium
vitamin K
Magnesium

Dates are really easy to add into your diet too, they are also pretty addictive!

Oatmeal

I use oatmeal a lot in snacks, it's higher in protein than a lot of other grains and can easily be whizzed up in the food processor and turned into a flour. We always have large quantities of Oatmeal on hand, have a look at these other Oatmeal recipes if you're also a fan:

Cocoa

Cocoa. It turns things to chocolate. Yep, that's all you really need to know. You get to have chocolate without the processed nasties you find in the chocolate bars in the shops. That's not to say we never have those, we do, but we limit them to very occasionally and make sure we have some good homemade chocolate snack recipes on hand. Because we (mostly!) love chocolate and definitely weren't prepared to give it up, no chance.

I buy a good quality cocoa. Cocoa has a huge amount of benefits to it, there's an interesting article on the health benefits of cocoa here you can have a read through.

Some of the better known health benefits of cocoa include decreased inflammation, improved heart and brain health, blood sugar and weight control and healthy skin.

So you see, you need chocolate in your life :)

Make Ahead & Storing

If you have 5 minutes you have the time to make a batch of these. While they take no time at all, making them ahead is a good idea so they're right there when you need them.

The flavors seem to develop more when these have been made for a day or two, and they're so easy to store, if you think you'll be pushed for time, get some of these made ahead.

Once these are made up, you can keep them in a container in the fridge. They'll last for a week in the fridge. You can also keep these in the freezer and take them out as and when you need them. You can nibble on these when they're frozen or slightly defrosted, or you can pop one of these in the kids lunchboxes overnight and it'll be ready to eat come break time.

If you're freezing these they can stay in the freezer for up to a month.

More Healthy No Bake Snacks

Chocolate Date Energy Balls Instructions

Ingredients

1¼ Cups Oatmeal
10-12 Dates Stoned
2 tbsp Cocoa powder Level tablespoon + extra for dusting
1 tbsp Maple syrup
3 tbsp Water
1 tbsp Orange extract Natural, Organic

Instructions

In a food processor, process all ingredients except the water
You may have to scrape down the sides of the processor a couple of times while combining the ingredients
The mixture should start to clump together, as per the photo
Once you have 'clumps' and the mixture is fully combined, transfer to a bowl
Using your hands, gently knead the mixture adding water if required to get the energy balls to form a dough
Using a cookie scoop, roll the dough into small balls and put them on parchment paper
Dust with cocoa if you like!
Eat :)