These merry little orbs do indeed live up to their name. They make me happy every time I pop one in my mouth!

I have been on the hunt for a recipe like this for awhile: a quick, easy snack for keeping my energy going in between meals that is high in protein and low in sugar.  So many of the packaged bars in grocery stores are too sweet, even the “healthy” ones.  And you can make these merry orbs for a fraction of the price. (courtesy of Eating It Real)

Ingredients:
• ½ cup raw sunflower seeds
• ½ cup raw pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup raw pecans
• 1.5 cups almond butter (peanut, hemp, or pumpkin seed will also work)
• ½ cup brown rice syrup (honey or maple syrup could work too but are higher on the glycemic index)
• 2 tbsp blackstrap molasses
• ¼ cup whole hemp and/or flax seeds
• Approx. ⅓ cup shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Blend the sunflower seeds and nuts in a blender or food processor. Do not blend for the flax/hemp seeds. It is better to keep these whole.

2. Remove the blended ingredients and place into large bowl.

3. Add the whole flax and/or hemp to this mixture.

4. Add the almond butter, brown rice syrup and molasses. Adjust to desired moistness by adding additional syrup or blended nuts/seeds.

5. Roll the mixture into balls approximately the size of a toonie and then roll each ball in shredded coconut to coat.

6. Refrigerate or freeze in a well sealed, opaque, container. ** This will make approx. 36 toonie-sized balls.
A tasty variation of this recipe is to add a big handful of organic brown puffed rice cereal and a smaller handful of good quality dark chocolate chips (I used the 70% fair-trade kind by Camino) to the mix before rolling in to balls.  A patient I shared this recipe with said she toasted the coconut lightly in the oven first before rolling/coating the balls and that sounds super yummy.  You could also try adding 2 TBSP of cocoa or carob powder to the base for an all round chocolatey experience.

Do you have a favourite high protein ‘sweet’ treat that you love?  Do share it with us.