These are like a bowl of hot cereal in a ball, which makes them great for breakfast. I love the whole grain earthiness of these energy balls and all the great nutrition in them. The coating of raw cocoa powder on the outside gives them the perfect bittersweet flavor when you bite into them plus an extra nutrition boost.

The flavor of toasted quinoa flakes is warm, nutty and gives them depth of flavor. I get my organic non-GMO quinoa flakes at nuts.com. They come in a nice sized bag of one pound or five pounds. Quinoa is a complete protein, it contains all nine essential amino acids, so it is a wonderful choice for breakfast or snacking! It’s also a great source of iron and dietary fiber and easy to digest, because it’s actually a seed, but the nutrition world considers it a whole grain.

Goji Berries contain antioxidants and Vitamins A and C and Zeaxanthin which is good for eye health. Dried ones are chewy, and earthy which gives these balls substance, meaning if you like chewy whole grain textures, you will like these a lot. A few of these with a cup of hot tea on a stormy day, like today here, is perfect.

The kitchen smells so good when you are toasting the quinoa flakes, warm and homey. Here’s the recipe.

Toasted Quinoa Goji Berry Cocoa Energy Balls

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 Cup of Quinoa Flakes (I love these organic gluten free ones!)

1 Medium Sized Ripe Banana

3/4 Cup of Dried Goji Berries (organic, sundried, no sulphur ones are my choice.)

1/4 Cup of Maple Syrup

2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil

2 Tablespoons of Ground Flax

2 Tablespoons of Cocoa Powder (reserved for rolling) I use raw cacao

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Cinnamon

1/4 Teaspoon of Ground Allspice

1/4 Teaspoon of Salt

Directions:

On a rimmed cookie sheet lined with parchment paper, spread out your quinoa flakes in a even layer. Toast in your preheated oven for seven minutes stirring halfway through. This will be after five minutes.

Remove the quinoa flakes from the oven when golden brown and set aside to cool.

Place your goji berries in a food processor with a blade attachment and pulverize them on high until they are mostly powder with a few bits left. This takes about one minute. Add the flax and banana (broken into pieces) and blend on high. Scrape down the sides of the food processor with a rubber spatula. Now, add the remaining ingredients except for the quinoa flakes and cocoa powder. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the food processor once. Add the toasted quinoa flakes and pulse until they are evenly and completely blended into your energy mix. It should be thick and easy to scoop.

Lay out a cookie sheet with parchment paper, and put the cocoa powder on a small plate beside it for rolling. With a cookie scoop, scoop out tablespoon sized balls and drop them right onto the cocoa powder. Roll them around with your fingers until coated with the cocoa and then pick them up and perfect them into balls. Place them on the cookie sheet two inches apart. This recipe makes 14 energy balls.

Bake in your preheated 350 degree F. oven for ten minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool completely on the cookie sheet before eating. These will store in a sealed container on your countertop.

These are a healthy gluten free snack that will give you energy, fiber and great nutrition.