Sweet potato adds natural sweetness and good nutrition to these great balls of energy. So tasty, they’re motivation enough to work up a sweat. The mixture will be quite moist when rolled, but the oats and flax will draw out some of the moisture upon chilling in the refrigerator.
Tip: Tool of the trade
A food processor is an ideal machine for making homemade energy bars and balls since it can better handle low liquid mixtures than regular blenders.
Ingredients
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup (250 mL) pecan halves
3/4 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup (125 mL) pitted dates
2 Tbsp (30 mL) ground flaxseed
1/4 cup (60 mL) honey
Zest of 1 orange
1 tsp (5 mL) allspice
Pinch of salt
1/3 cup (80 mL) dried shredded unsweetened coconut
Directions
Place sweet potato in a steamer basket set in a pot with at least 1 in (2.5 cm) of water. Bring water to a boil and steam until sweet potato is fork tender, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool. Alternatively, you can also boil the sweet potato until tender.
Place pecans, oats, and dates in food processor container and process until finely chopped. Add sweet potato, flaxseed, honey, orange zest, allspice, and a couple pinches salt to container and blend until mixture clumps together.
Using damp hands, form mixture into 1 in (2.5 cm) balls. You should get about 16 balls.
Spread coconut out on a plate. Roll balls in coconut and chill in refrigerator to help the balls firm up. Keep chilled until ready to use.
