This week I’ve been drinking coffee like my life depends on it.
Well, to be fair- it seems like it does!
Do you ever have those weeks where it seems like everything is due, you have about 1000 appointments, and absolutely no time?
Yeah, that’s this week for me!
If you hadn’t heard about it via the weather channel (or all the commotion the East Coast was making regarding it), last week much of America suffered a “snowpocalypse”. Meaning, in my home state of sunny Virginia, where we typically never receive over 4 inches of snow on a heavy snow day, we received 24.
To put it lightly, the entire city shut down for about 3 days. We southerners don’t deal well with snow.
Long story short, after receiving a week off of school, I came back to 2 huge make-up tests, a plethora of project due dates, and the school play (or “One Act” play to be precise) all in one week. And have since last Thursday have been attempting to catch up!
I’ve also found that when I’m pressed for time, I’ll tend to grab whatever highly-caffeinated snack I can grab. Unfortunately, most of the time that means chocolate cookies or cupcakes my friends happen to bring in… and believe me a sugar crash after only 5 hours of sleep is never fun!
So instead, I decided that this week (of all weeks) I needed to create a quick, grab-and-go snack that would energize me, taste great, and be a lot healthier than the Tiramisu cupcakes and chocolate cookies my friend brought to school today.
The result? These gluten free, no-bake espresso energy balls!
While these energy balls (or more accurately: cookie balls) don’t contain any butter, sugar, or flour… In fact, they only have 5 simple ingredients! But what they do contain?
Caffeine.
And at a time like this, that’s really all I need to hear: because I’m all over them. And too tired to think about anything other than coffee! š
Espresso Energy Balls
- 6-8 medjool dates
- 1/2 c old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1/2 c cashews
- 1/4 c dark chocolate chips
Add cashews and oats to a food processor and blend until ground. Add coffee powder and process until combined. Add chocolate chips and 6 dates and process until the mixture has combined to a soft dough. If the dough isn’t sticky enough, add the extra 2 dates. Line a cookie sheet with aluminum foil. Roll dough into balls (1inch diameter) and place onto the cookie sheet. Freeze for 30 minutes- 1 hr or until hard. Store in a Tupperware container. Enjoy!
Nutrition InformationĀ (from myfitnesspal.com)
Calories: 61
Fat: 2g
Carbs: 11g
Protein: 1g
(Yields 18 energy bites)
skinnysweettreats 