Energy Bites

Energy bites are great for snacking on (sans guilt) and simple enough to make to satisfy your sweet tooth and give you all the energy you need to keep you going. It's all about choosing the right, good quality, fresh, preferably organic ingredients that blend well together and the best part is you can mix and match by choosing what you like to come up with perfect energy bite!The base is having a nut ingredient like cashews, walnuts or almonds, a natural soft sweet ingredient like dates or figs for a pasty texture, natural flavourings like cinnamon, cacao, vanilla, lemon zest and a liquid like lemon juice and coconut oil for a good source of fat. The options are endless you can add chia seeds, flaxseed or protein powder for more nutritious energy packed bites!They can be kept for a week stored in an airtight container or in the fridge if you like a firmer treat. Here are two versions I picked up showing you how versatile these recipes can be.

Cashews, Blueberry, Lemon and Coconut Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups of cashew nuts

• 1/2 cup of shredded coconut

• 1/2 dried blueberries

• 3/4 cup of pitted dates

• 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon of lemon zest

• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

  Method

  Mix cashews and shredded coconut together in a blender, add the dried blueberries (you can use fresh blueberries or sultanas) and dates into blender, then mix in lemon juice, zest of a lemon and a teaspoon of vanilla extract. When it's all mixed together mould into balls and roll them over some desiccated coconut and refrigerate.

Fig, Coconut and Cacao Truffles

Ingredients:

• 1 cup roughly chopped dried figs

• 1 cup pitted and roughly chopped dates

• 1 cup desiccated coconut, plus extra or dusting

• 1 cup walnuts, chopped

• 1/2 cup raw cacao powder

• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

• 1 tsp lemon zest

• 1/2- 3/4 cup coconut oil

• 2 tbsp each extra raw cacao powder or ground walnuts, for dusting

  Method

  Place the dried fruit in the food processor and process to a chunky paste. Add the rest of the ingredients, leaving the oil until last. Blitz until smooth and glossy. Roll the mixture into balls the size of a walnut, then dust in the extra cacao powder or ground walnuts.