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Snacks often get a bad reputation because they are associated with poor nutrition and poor health. Though this might be true for most snacks we find on the grocery shelves or in vending machines, healthy snacks - such as the fig power balls I am about to share with you - are a great addition to a healthy lifestyle and diet. Not only are they adding tons of health-promoting nutrients to your day, but they also provide satisfaction between meals and give you a much-needed mid-morning or afternoon energy kick!

So as long as you choose the right foods, healthy snacks should be a part of your diet! But what are healthy snacks? If you use the same common sense as you use when choosing a healthy meal you should be fine. This means, opting for whole foods and ingredients that don’t come with a long list of unpronounceable ingredients on their label.

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SUPERFOOD FIG POWER BALLS

Need a guilt-free energy hit? These fig power balls are the perfect nutrient-dense snack to keep you going. Though they are very small these fig power balls pack a whole array of health-promoting nutrients such as protein, healthy carbs, fats, fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

Plus, they are made in no time, call for simple ingredients, and are one of our go-to energy bites.

While power balls are nothing new at our home, these are our new favorites. Before I always used dried dates as a base, but oh boy, making them with dried figs was an excellent idea!

Figs, whether you consume them fresh or dried, are a sweet and delicious powerhouse of nutrition. They are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin K, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium, calcium, fiber, and powerful antioxidants such as quercetin, kaempferol, and epicatechin.

INGREDIENTS

1 cup dried figs, stems removed
1 cup raw cashew nuts
¼ cup dark, sugar-free cacao powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ tsp cinnamon powder
¼ cup desiccated coconut
Pinch of Himalayan pink salt
Extra virgin coconut oil (if needed)

FYI: I coated ⅓ of my fig power balls with cacao powder, ⅓ with desiccated coconut and for the last ⅓ I didn’t use any coating. Other possible coatings are crushed nuts/seeds, matcha powder, melted chocolate, etc.

DIRECTIONS

In a dry pan or the oven, toast/roast cashew nuts to give the power balls extra flavor. I used a dry pan this time. I was a bit in a rush. If you have time, the oven will roast the nuts more evenly. But to be fair, looks are not important here as the nuts will be blended anyway. So I went for the faster option here.

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