Dear reader, please forgive me. I fully intended to post a round-up of easy vegan snack recipes for anyone who is looking for healthy snacks for Christmas but I just haven’t gotten around to it, thanks to the unpredictability of being a freelance writer. This weekend I managed to escape into the kitchen for half an hour, listen to a podcast (Leah Remini discussing Scientology on Ru Paul: What’s the Tee? – I 100% recommend it) and make these unbelievably easy date and cashew nut energy balls.

Similar to my recipe for coconut and cashew cookies, these balls are vegan, you only need 4 ingredients and there’s no baking required so, even if you’re time-strapped or not exactly Nigella in the kitchen, you’ll be able to make them. So, if you’re looking for a really delicious but healthy snack before you overindulge over the festive season, give these date, cashew and coconut energy balls a go.

I have a pretty haphazard approach to baking so you can adjust these ingredients based on your own preferences or what you’ve got in your kitchen, but you should be able to make 12 energy balls from this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

Half cup chopped pitted dates, pre-soaked for about 10 minutes

1 cup unsalted cashew nuts, roughly chopped

1-2 tablespoons nut butter of choice (I prefer crunchy, sugar-free peanut butter)

3 tablespoons of desiccated coconut

METHOD:

Pulse the dates, cashews and nut butter in a large bowl until they’re well blended. The mixture should be sticky and not completely smooth – I like it a bit crunchy.

Using a teaspoon, form the mixture into small balls.

Add your desiccated coconut to a bowl, roll each ball in the coconut and place on a plate.

Once all the balls are covered in coconut, place the plate into the fridge and allow to chill overnight.

Enjoy!