The Brightside: Superfood Lunch Box Snacks
Here are three of our favourite bliss ball recipes and their nutritional benefits. Check your school nut policy, as some of these balls may be better as an at-home treat/snack.
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1. Cashew Cacao Bliss Balls
Cashews are low in sugar and rich in fibre, heart-healthy fats, and plant protein. They’re also a good source of copper, magnesium, and manganese — nutrients essential for energy production, brain health, immunity, and bone health. Cacao is rich in antioxidants, magnesium, and iron.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup of raw, unsalted cashews
- 2 tablespoons of cacao
- 2 tablespoons of your seed of choice (we chose chia seeds)
- A dash of maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/3 cup of desiccated or shredded coconut to coat balls
Method:
2. Roll them into balls, one tablespoon at a time.
3. Lay the desiccated coconut out onto a plate and roll the balls in the coconut to coat.
Voila! Ready to enjoy or store in a glass jar to add to lunchboxes for the week.
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2. Carrot Cake Energy Balls
The Vitamin A from the carrots, fibre from the oats, and fatty acids from the sunflower seeds make these flavour-packed balls the perfect nut-free lunchbox snack. A fave recipe from
Ingredients:
- 1 cup oats
- 1 cup sunflower seeds
- ½ cup dates
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil or other light-flavoured oil
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ginger dried
- Desiccated coconut for rolling
Method:
2. Add the remaining ingredients, excluding the desiccated coconut and blitz until the mixture comes together into a large ball. This may take five or so minutes of blitzing, but be patient. It will get there.
3. Use a teaspoon to form the balls. The mixture will be quite sticky (because of the water content of the fresh carrot), but the texture improves once you roll in coconut. If you keep your hands damp, it stops the mix from sticking to your fingers. Get the kids involved. They will love the mess!
4. Roll the balls in desiccated coconut (you don’t have to; I sometimes leave some coconut-free). Refrigerate to store.
Note: The balls will be soft when first made, as the mixture is quite warm for them to blitz. Refrigerate for a good few hours, and this will improve immensely.
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3. Apricot Ginger and Cashew Balls
Dried apricots are a brilliant source of iron and potassium, a mineral our muscles need to function properly. I love this Jamie Oliver recipe using ginger and mixed spices for a different flavour profile.
Ingredients:
- 20g sesame seeds
- 80g dried apricots
- 20g puffed brown rice or puffed quinoa
- 4cm piece of ginger
- ½ teaspoon mixed spice
- 2 tablespoons of honey (raw or Manuka if possible)
Method:
2. Remove approx. 40g of the cashews and blitz in the food processor into a fine dust.
Place on a separate plate.
3. Place the remaining cashews, sesame seeds, apricots, puffed rice or quinoa into the food processor until finely blitzed.
4. Peel and finely grate the ginger, add with the mixed spice, and blend again. Next, add the honey. Blitz for another minute and scrape down the sides as necessary – you may need to add an extra dash of honey to combine.
5. Roll the mixture into balls and then coat in the cashew dust. Store in an airtight container for snacking on all week long.
Shop Banabae for your rad kid:
More family-friendly recipes from the Brightside blog:
The Brightside - Lovers Beetroot Brownies
The Brightside - Strawberry Loaf
