Breakfast Power Truffles

I came up with the idea to make these little breakfast truffles this past weekend when my husband, his brother, and two of our friends (male, naturally) participated in a muddy obstacle course testosterone* fest known as the "Warrior Dash." He and his friends had been training for it all summer and then early on Sunday morning he put on some incredibly tight athletic clothing and drove to upstate New York. He got home about 12 hours later smelling a little stinky but happy as a clam with stories of leaping over fire and swimming through mud under barbed wire and giant turkey legs. There was even a mangy looking hat that reminded me of the ones worn by members of the Loyal Order of the Water Buffalo.

But I digress! The day before the event, Eugene ran out to the store to buy what he called "provisions"; this included water, a sweat band for his head, and (gasp!) a little bottle of something called "5-Hour Energy."

"WHAT?!?!?!" I shouted, when he told me he'd bought it. "THAT'S A LITTLE BOTTLE OF PROCESSED POISON!" I added, shaking in semi-mock horror.

"I need it for energy," he explained, somewhat sheepish at this point.

"It's like you don't even read my blog," I replied, sadly walking away.

Completely horrified by all this I declared that I would be waking up with him at 6:30 in order to prepare a proper breakfast and some homemade energy bars containing REAL food that would give him energy for much longer than just five hours. I didn't even have a recipe to use, just a mission.

The next morning I rose with him and got to work at my food processor, tossing in dates, ground coconut flour, nuts, chia seeds, pepitas, coconut oil, natural peanut butter, cocoa nibs, oats, and some raw honey. I processed everything until it formed a mass and then I rolled them into little balls. I also made him a breakfast burrito of eggs scrambled with vegetables and a little chorizo, topped off with Greek yogurt, on a whole grain tortilla. Throughout all this, he kept telling me to go back to bed and insisting that he didn't need anything or would "just have a banana."

Despite his protestations, I sent him off with his bag of homemade energy balls and the burrito, satisfied that even if he did end up sneaking the liquid inside that nasty little bottle, there would at least be some good wholesome real food in there to hopefully counteract it.

The balls ended up being a success (naturally), and he and the guys finished the entire bag. I ended up making a second batch and they're sitting in the fridge right now, just perfect for a quick dose of protein in the morning or for the next time he comes home from the gym in scavenger mode.

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Breakfast Power Truffles
Makes about 15 truffles

Ingredients
1/2 cup almonds
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chia seeds
1/2 cup cocoa nibs (or substitute 1/2 cup cocoa powder)
1/2 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or, if you can get it, Celtic sea salt would be great too!)
1/2 cup ground coconut flour or unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup natural creamy peanut butter 
1 cup dates (look for moist, plump dates like Medjool or California; can substitute dried apricots or figs rehydrated in 1/2 cup hot water)
3 tablespoon honey or maple syrup
Additional coconut flour for rolling (optional)


Directions
Combine the almonds, oats, chia seeds, cocoa nibs, and pepitas in your food processor and process until finely ground. Add the kosher salt and coconut flour and pulse again to combine. Add the peanut butter, dates, and honey and process until combined (it will likely form one big clump; that's good; if it's too wet, add more coconut flour.

One you have a thick paste, dump it onto a baking tray and use your hands to roll it into round balls, about 2 tablespoons each. If desired, roll each truffle in coconut flour. Chill for 1 hour before transferring to an airtight container. Store in the refrigerator (can also be frozen). Will keep well in the refrigerator for up to 2 months.

*There are actually women who participate in this too, but it's obviously a very dude-centric event.