Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat, Chia Seeds & Dark Chocolate

Snacks have a high bar as far as I’m concerned. They need to offer some fat, fiber and protein, and they need to be compact, quick to eat, low in sugar, satiating, and (most importantly?) fun. A successful snack keeps you powered for a few hours without heading for the cupboard where all the chips and popcorn are stored before dinner. Snacks are also where cravings often show up, which is why chocolate and peanut butter are featured here.

This recipe is written for natural peanut butter, ie. peanut butter that contains only roasted peanuts and sea salt. Please don’t buy the other stuff - it’s full of refined sugar and hydrogenated oils. If you’re craving more sweetness, you can always add more raw honey.

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Peanut Butter Energy Balls with Buckwheat & Dark Chocolate

7/8 cup toasted buckwheat groats
2 tablespoons chia seeds (whole)
1 cup natural salted creamy peanut butter
3 tablespoons raw honey
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
3 oz dark chocolate, chopped

Combine the buckwheat, chia seeds, peanut butter, honey and sea salt and stir well. Incorporate the chopped chocolate until it’s well distributed. To form each ball, press the mixture together with your hands to firm it up, then gently roll into a ball. These store in the fridge for quite some time, but they won’t very long at all.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Energy Bars

This is my first take at reverse engineering a favorite health bar (see below). The buckwheat (which is not wheat) in combination with the seeds and the peanut butter will keep you satiated for quite a while. They store well in the fridge but can travel for the day as well.

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Peanut Butter & Chocolate Chip Energy Bars
I used this recipe on the 101 Cookbooks blog for the proportions and toasting idea, and then based the ingredients on these bars from Elemental Superfood.

Notes: The Type A side of my personality gets frustrated that it's almost impossible to get the wet and dry ingredient balance so perfect that you don't have any dry crumbles at the bottom of the bowl after all the bars are formed. I'm trying to get over it. One thing I wouldn't do is add more peanut butter when you're most of the way through the mix because those last few bars will be too dry without the right balance of maple syrup and vanilla stirred in. Also, my sister has tried this with millet in place of the buckwheat and she says it works well. Finally, these store best in the refrigerator, but travel well for the day if you'd like to take some with you.

Dry ingredients to toast:
1 cup buckwheat groats
1/3 cup raw pepitas
1/3 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

Wet ingredients:
1 cup plus 2 heaping tablespoons salted, natural peanut butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Also:
3 tablespoons chia seeds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (I use 70%)

Place the buckwheat groats, pepitas, sunflower seeds and shredded coconut in a skillet and toast for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. (The buckwheat can burn otherwise.) The mixture should smell toasty and the coconut should have a caramel color to it. Remove from heat.

While the dry ingredients are cooling, combine the peanut butter, maple syrup, vanilla extract and sea salt. Stir until well combined.

When the dry ingredients have completely cooled (otherwise the chocolate chips will melt), add them to the peanut butter mixture, along with the chia seeds and chocolate chips. Stir to combine everything. The mixture will look crumbly by this point.

Use your hands to form bars. I make them so that they fit into the palm of my hand. Store in the refrigerator. Eat one whenever you need a chocolate and peanut butter pick-me-up.

Makes about 20 energy bars.