I call them ‘energy’ bites because of all the good ingredients that can help to power you through your day. Almonds and cashews provide good fats and fiber to keep you fueled and your heart healthy. Dates, responsible for the naturally sweet component to the recipe, also add fiber and potassium to your diet. Not to mention satisfying any sweet tooth cravings that might hit.
Besides being composed of ingredients that are good for you, these zesty coconut lime energy bites are very, very easy to make. Everything goes in the blender, and two minutes later you have a nut mixture that is ready to roll into little balls. You could also flatten the nut mixture into a baking dish and make these into bars. I personally find one or two of the round bites enough to eat at a time, but if you are a big fan of key lime pie you could build it bigger. I also like rolling the balls in the coconut flakes. Some inner child thing is responsible for that probably.
Whichever way you decide to prepare them, one of the best ways to stay on track with the Paleo diet is to have healthy snacks on hand. It seems easiest to cheat when you think it’s just for a small snack. Instead of munching on potato chips or whatever is most convenient, have a Paleo option ready so that you don’t have to overthink it. Make a batch of these energy bites or granola bars at the beginning of the week so that you are ready to go all week long.
This recipe was adapted from Spoonful of Flavor’s wonderful recipe here
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup almonds
- 1/4 cup cashews
- 1 1/2 cups pitted Medjool dates
- Zest of 3 limes
- Juice of 3 limes
- Pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Directions
- Place the almonds and cashews into a blender or food processor and pulse to finely chop. Add the dates, salt, lime zest and juice and blend until the mixture starts to clump together.
- Transfer to a bowl and scrape down the sides with a spatula. Use your hands to form small round balls, rolling in your palm. Roll each ball in the coconut flakes to coat. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week.
I really wanted to try the Coconut Lime Energy Bites, however my daughter is deathly allergic to peanuts and cashews. Is there a replacement for the cashews that I could use? (The only nut we know for sure that she is okay with is almonds, but they have to be processed separately from peanuts and other tree nuts!)
You could easily replace the cashews with another kind of nut or just use all almonds, and they still turn out great.
You can use all almonds for this recipe, yesterday I made it with all cashews. Cut down on the lime, this recipe is too tart for most people. The next time I make it im going to use the juice of 2 limes and no zest
I’m off to get some coconut flakes now! I can’t wait to eat (and share of course 😉 ) these ♥Thanks Rebecca 🙂
You’re very welcome Sarah. I’m happy to share these recipes as well!
Scrummy. So easy to make the hard part is restricting myself to two but as they are very satisfying I should be able to restrain myself…
As for my twin boys…. I will let you know. Thank you.
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Haha, great! I hope the boys enjoy them as well. Sometimes I put two in a separate bag to take to work so that I don’t eat them all at once!
These are delicious. I only used the zest of two of the limes and it was still plenty tangy.
My only trouble with these is how sticky the mixture is. It’s tricky to scrape it all out of the blender and past the blades. It seems to prefer to stick my hands to itself so rolling with my palms was out of the question. What I did to resolve this was melt some coconut oil in a bowl and drop a clump of the mixture in. I then was able to shape it without it sticking to everything it touched.
Does anyone else have this trouble?
Cheers
Thanks for the comment Mitchell – if I’m having problems rolling the mixture sometimes I wet my hands which also helps it not to stick. Coconut oil sounds like a good solution as well!
How many calories in each ball?? They DELISH
I’ve just finished making these and they are sensational ! So easy to make , so full of flavor and they look like rum balls which my family all dislike , so I won’t have to share a single one ! Thank you Paleo Grub 🙂
Yum yum yum! These are amazing! Finally got around to making these and they definitely didn’t disappoint.
I keep these in the freezer and eat them really cold – delish!
That’s a great idea for the hot summer months!
I made these and even my kids who are suspicious of anything I make that is “healthy/sugar free” thought they were delicious. I’m making a second batch today. I stored the extras in the freezer as someone else did which gave them a firmer texture and you could eat them right from the freezer without “thawing”. GREAT recipe! Thanks
Chilling them in the refrigerator and scooping them out with a cookie scoop and dropping them right into the coconut worked well to combat the “stickiness”.
Great suggestions, thank you Cindy! Glad the kids enjoyed them as well!
Absolutely delicious. Thank you so much for sharing.
Sounds really delicious. Last night I made some balls based on the Apple Pie Balls recipe, and ended up adding extra dates because they were a little on the dry side and some almond butter to help it bind together. My question is, can these then be baked to keep them together or would that just dry them out?
I am out of almonds….would macadamia nuts or pecans work or should I just use all cashews??
i don’t like dates, what can I replace them with??
Hey Rebecca. I am trying to track my food intake via app and was curious if you knew the nutritional value (i.e. calories) for this recipe? Thanks so much
I made these last weekend to snack on throughout the week. Keeping them in the freezer is perfect and they are delicious! I’ll definitely continue making these while my mom still has limes on her tree.
Thank you for this awesome recipe! I hope I am able to find dates here (it is a mountainous area, and winter!)
Sounds amazing, I’ve been advised to follow a more paleo orientated diet by my consultant, its been known to help lymphoedema, hard to get my head round it, recipes like these will help, thanks
I love them so much that I always beg my mum to make more I try to resist from taking more then two but I can get a little hungry. Thanks Rebecca for this awesome recipe I shall make my kids some one day
These are so yummy!! 🙂 Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe! I love the idea of being able to freeze them. I am using the Baer Limes off of my tree and they are my favorite use of these limes!
These are amazing! I have purchased several of your books and I have loved every recipe I have tried so far! Thank you!
What a FABULOUS recipe! My favorite from your site thus far!! For me, the lime amount is perfect. Just the right amount of ‘Gotcha!’
Delicious! Only used one lime (zest and juice) since that’s all I had. Really love the flavor and so easy to make. Thank you!