Cranberry Orange Bliss Balls
Anyone else obsessed with the cranberry bliss bars from Starbucks? I know there’s a fan club out there, they are ridiculously good. If you are a cranberry bliss bar virgin this is what you have been missing out on…a blondie cake base topped with cream cheese icing, dried cranberries and white orange drizzle. Yeah, they SO good but NOT so good for your waistline.Guess what??? I've created my own healthy version and rolled them up into ballzzz. I do love anything rolled up into a ball so I am adding this cranberry-orange bliss ball recipe to the top of my heathy snack ball list! I used rolled oats, almonds, cashew butter and coconut as the base ingredients then added fresh orange juice and zest and mixed them together by hand.Lastly I added dried tart cranberries, hemp hearts and drizzled them with white chocolate. I eliminated refined sugars, made the balls gluten free and somehow achieved a super decadent copycat Starbuck cranberry-orange bliss BALL!These small but mighty balls are full of goodness and you will find them the best 15 minute healthy snack to fuel your afternoons and beat the 3pm energy slump!Not sure about you, but I rarely make it from lunch to dinner without at least a little snacking. That’s why I always make sure to have a healthy (and sweet) snack on hand, so when hunger pangs strike, I can calm them almost instantly. This most definitely saves me from much bigger snacking (uncontrollably) later on.I'm all about no-bake snacks lately. There's just a laziness in my bones that knows no bounds. Sometimes laziness must be forgiven though. Especially when the results are like this. Namely, sweet, crunchy balls of bliss, studded with cranberries, flavoured with orange, loaded with good stuff like nuts, oats, coconut, hemp seeds and drizzled in white chocolate. Recipe highlightsReady in 10 minutes. Like protein balls and peanut butter oatmeal balls, you can have these bad boys ready in 10 minutes or less.Healthy and nutritious. Almonds offer healthy fats and protein, dates have plenty of potassium, and cranberries are packed with antioxidants. What I love most about these energy balls is how versatile they are! They make the perfect pre-or post-workout snack and pack easily into lunch boxes. I find even the pickiest of kiddos really love them, which makes me feel good since they are made with only wholesome ingredients.First of all you can definitely reason with yourself that one or several of these would make a semi-healthy breakfast or snack. I mean, oats? Fruit? Hello! This is health. Secondly, the texture here wins. It's pretty much oatmeal cookie dough meets rice krispie treats. Also they're small enough that you are allowed to eat twenty. This is math.Just do as I command and make a batch of these quick to keep in the fridge for whenever you are starving for something awesome. You will thank me later.
Servings 14
Ingredients
- 1 cup oats, instant or quick
- 1/2 cup cashew (or any other nut) butter
- 1/2 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/4 cup almonds, chopped
- 1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 orange, juice and zest
- 1/4 cup hemp or chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons protein or collagen powder
- 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Chocolate Drizzle
- 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
- 1 teaspoon coconut oil
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together cashew butter, honey, orange juice and zest.Add oats, chopped almonds, desiccated coconut, hemp seeds, cinnamon, protein powder and dried cranberries. Stir to combine. Roll into 14 equal sized bliss balls (about 2 tablespoons each).
White Chocolate Drizzle
- Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in small dish and microwave at 50% power with 30 second bursts stirring between each one until melted and smooth.Or use double boiler method - (pot of boiling water with a bowl resting on top) melt the chocolate chips and the coconut oil together.Drizzle chocolate over the tops of the bliss balls using a spoon. Place in the freezer until the chocolate has set (about 5 minutes).Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated for up to 1 week. I like to store them in between sheets of parchment paper so they don’t stick together. Freeze left over energy balls in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Let the balls thaw overnight in the fridge.
If you are looking for more delicious, healthy, no bake desserts and treats to help you reach your health, wellness and fitness goals, you will love my collection here: Blended Bites
