Raw Energy Balls with 4 Superfoods & Diatomaceous Earth (Paleo, GAPS, Vegan)

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Raw Energy Balls with 4 Superfoods & Diatomaceous Earth are Paleo-friendly, GAPS and Vegan (if you eat healthy-bee honey). Below I discuss each of the ingredients and what makes these ingredients superfoods. From an eating perspective — Hibiscus-dusted energy balls make your mouth buzzy and happy. From a nutritional standpoint, they’re not full of high-fructose fruit, such as dates. I wanted an energy ball that was low-sugar, no nuts or seeds, easy to digest and genuinely a superfood bite. I think I’ve created just that and it’s delicious! It’s also rich and satisfying, so it’s perfect for a grab-and-go snack.

4 Superfoods

I’m pleased with the nutrient-dense ingredients: coconut, hibiscus, bee pollen, spirulina, honey, diatomaceous earth and lime oil (optional). My favorite way to eat the balls is rolled in the powdered dried hibiscus blossoms. This gives them their added citrusy zip that is quite energizing and happy-making.

The diatomaceous earth is the muse of the cookie bite. I made these with the desire in mind of finding a way to incorporate DE into an (egg-free) treat, for its pathogen killing properties. If you’d like to learn more about this supplement, I posted last week about how to use DE 1) in a cleansing regimen, as well as 2) a lovely, fun biscuit recipe that uses it! (If you don’t want to use DE, but still want this lovely energy ball cookie, I recommend substituting grass-fed collagen [find it here] in its place [obviously not vegan].)

Let’s talk briefly about the other four super foods I chose to use in this recipe and what makes them so special:

• Hibiscus– This flower is a personal favorite of mine. I drink hibiscus tea every day, home made  from the loose blossoms, loving its restorative qualities and the high dose of vitamin C I gain. Hibiscus can help with sleep issues and is known for its crazy-high levels of antioxidants. To learn more about hibiscus, see my post here. What’s really cool in this recipe is eating the blossoms, instead of making them into tea, by powdering them in the blender. They are super citrusy and make a lovely dusting for the balls. You really taste the zing as the powder hits your tongue and lips. And the zing feels fun and exciting. What a way to receive energy! Even the power of taste can impart energy to us, when it’s followed by the nutrient-dense food that provided the flavor!
• Bee pollen– Containing over 5000 enzymes, according to Sally Fallon of Nourishing Traditions, bee pollen has tremendous detoxifying effects. It is also noted to help with allergies, bowel complaints (constipation and diarrhea), anemia, arthritis, cancer, and hormone regulation. Sally also says, “Bee pollen contains 22 amino acids including the eight essential ones, 27 minerals and the full gamut of vitamins, hormones and fatty acids.” It is linked to long life and endurance.
• Spirulina– High in minerals (think leafy greens) and protein, this algae is also easy to digest and absorb. It is high in calcium and antioxidants as well as B complex vitamins, vitamin E, beta-carotene, magnesium, potassium, iron, zinc, and phosphorous.
• Coconut– Coconut butter (learn how to make your own here), or manna, is full, of course, of coconut oil. Coconut oil is full of medium-chain-triglycerides. These are fatty acids that are small molecularly, smaller than say, vegetable oils’. They are, therefore, easy to digest and instead of being stored as fats, MCTs, as they’re called, burn right up and become fuel, or energy, for our bodies. This process speeds up our metabolism! (Carbohydrates go through a similar process, the difference being that they produce an insulin spike.) MCTs go one step further; they even help our bodies to burn fat for energy. They’re a great fat to assist healing and to boost the immune system. Also noteworthy for those of us healing our bodies of pathogen overgrowth, a main point of this recipe, is that coconut oil contains lauric acid, a compound that gets converted into monolaurin. I have purchased monolaurin alone for its pathogen killing properties. It is both powerfully anti-viral and antibacterial! This is the just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to all of coconut oil’s benefits. But suffice it to say, whole ground up coconut is a fabulous super food, yielding energy and many healing properties.

Print Recipe

4.88 from 8 votes

Raw ENERGY BALLS with Diatomaceous Earth

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Author: Megan

Ingredients

• 5 cups shredded dried coconut or 1-½ cups coconut butter, softened
• 2 T. raw honey
• 2 T. powdered dried hibiscus petals from 1 cup flowers in the blender
• 1 T. bee pollen
• 1 T. diatomaceous earth food grade
• 2 tsp. spirulina or blue green algae
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 3 drops citrus oil I use lime oil or 1-2 drops lime EO (see links below)

Instructions

• Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. Set aside.
• Place dried coconut into food processor or high speed blender. Process for 3-15 minutes (depending on how fast your machine liquifies the coconut), to make coconut butter/manna. (See Recipe notes below for greater detail.)
• Stop the motor when the dried coconut is liquified. Add the remaining ingredients. (They're all so pretty!) Process again briefly, just until ingredients are evenly mixed, about 30 seconds, scraping down the sides and bottom once, in the middle, to help evenly incorporate all the ingredients.
• Roll mixture into 1 inch balls and place them on the prepared cookie sheet. Freeze them for 15 minutes and then roll each ball in the leftover powdered hibiscus, as desired.
• Balls can be refrigerated long-term, in a sealed container, until ready to serve or snack on. They can also be frozen; but they're really hard to bite into when they're that cold- yummy too!

Notes

*Here is how to make coconut butter.

*Here is the kind of lime oil that I used to use, but it's not accessible at this time. So now I use 1-2 drops lime EO: THIS one. (It's lovely and, in my opinion, safe to ingest because it's eaten with lots of fat, in the base of coconut butter.)

Have you used DE in a recipe before?