Chocolate Orange Energy Balls (Protein)

These energy balls are rich and moreish, paced with zesty flavour and coated with creamy chocolate. A tasty boost of carbs and protein, they're ideal to fuel your muscles through a cardio session or heavy leg day.

hazelnuts, toasted (150 g)
prunes, soft, pitted (100 g)
2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
2 scoops chocolate whey protein powder (39 g)
1 pinch sea salt
1 Tbsp. pure honey
½ orange, freshly zested
1 orange juice, freshly squeezed
1 bar orange chocolate

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C/160°C fan, Gas Mark 4).

Pour the hazelnuts onto a lined baking tray and bake until toasted (this step is optional but deepens the flavour).

Add the hazelnuts to a food processor and blitz until crumbled. Don’t blend too much otherwise the mixture will turn into nut butter. Alternatively, use a pestle and mortar to crush the hazelnuts.

Then, add the prunes, cocoa powder, whey protein, salt, honey, orange zest and a squeeze of orange juice; blitz again until the mixture is well combined and sticky. If it’s too thick, loosen it with a little more orange juice.

Divide the mixture into 12 evenly sized balls. Cover and chill for 15-20 minutes until firm.

A few minutes before removing the energy balls from the fridge, melt the orange chocolate in a douoble-boiler, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat.

Use a skewer or toothpick to dip each chilled energy ball in melted orange chocolate until completely covered.

Transfer to a plate or container and chill again until set (this should take around half an hour). Keep in the fridge for up to 4 days.

Nutritional Information:
Calories 198 | Fat 12g | Carbohydrates 17g | Protein 12g