Coconut & Date Free Chocolate Beet Power Balls

Decadent but secretly healthy, these beet power balls are a delicious way to eat beets.

If you are craving a sweet, but healthy snack, make these coconut and date-free chocolate beet balls! They taste like a chocolate truffle with a fruity twist. These healthy little balls of goodness are packed full of beets (the ultimate runners food)! Beets are high in antioxidants and nutrients that help your hardworking body recover and reduce inflammation. Beets also contain nitric oxide, which helps boost endurance and lower blood pressure. This fantastic little root vegetable should be in all runners’ fridges.

A word of warning: some taste-testers expressed that the high fiber content of these balls had their stomachs in turmoil when they were consumed pre-run. I would suggest high-carb low-fiber pre- run fuel like this mug cake mix.

If you want more beet balls and are not allergic to coconuts or dates, try this recipe.

Coconut & Date Free Chocolate Beet Power Ball Recipe:

Ingredients:

Beet Balls:

1 cup chopped, peeled, raw beets

1/2 cup almond butter

1/3 cup brown rice syrup

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons beet powder

2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds

2 tablespoons vanilla protein powder

1 tablespoon collagen peptides

1 2/3 cup old-fashioned of instant oats

1/3 cup almond flour or almond meal

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chocolate Drizzle:

1 tablespoon butter

1/3 cup dark chocolate chips

2 squares 97% cocoa chocolate or more chocolate chips.

Instructions:

In a large food processer, blend the raw chopped beets until pulverized. Add in the honey, brown rice syrup, almond butter, and vanilla. Blend it until smooth. Next, add in the beet powder, collagen powder, protein powder, oats, almond flour, ground flaxseeds, and cocoa powder. Pulse/blend it until a sticky dough forms, and the mixture is uniform and completely combined. Using a one- tablespoon cookie scoop, scoop the beet mixture onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and place them in the freezer for 30 minutes. Now, make the chocolate sauce: in a pot, melt the butter and chocolate together and whisk until smooth. Set aside. After the beet blobs have hardened, roll them into smooth balls with your hands. Drizzle the chocolate sauce over the balls, or dunk the balls in the sauce. If you plan on dunking all the balls you will need to make more chocolate sauce. Place the balls back into the freezer and let the chocolate set. Store the balls in the fridge for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for 1 month.

Notes:

The balls are a bit gooey, I don’t recommend them for traveling. For a less sticky ball, add more oats.

Not a chocolate fan? Replace the chocolate drizzle by rolling the balls in ground flaxseeds.

Roll the balls in cocoa powder for a different look.

If you don’t have protein powder or collagen peptides on hand just replace them with more oats.