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These vegan, gluten-free, no refined sugar immunity power balls are packed with antioxidants and protein to keep you fueled, boost your immune system and make a satisfying treat for kids and adults
I don’t need to remind anyone that it’s flu season but guys, it’s flu season! There are so many nasty viruses floating around right now and our whole household just came down with something. It’s honestly been a rough few days and we are still feeling the effects of the illness.
Thankfully, we have been taking elderberry daily to help boost our immune systems and we have been taking it during our sickness to help with the severity and duration and I truly believe it’s helping!
If you are new to elderberry and don’t know what it is, it is a berry that is PACKED with antioxidants! It is an extremely well used medicinal plant dating back years and years and years- you have most likely seen elderberry sold in your local health food store. It is believed to help boost your immune system, alleviate conditions from the cold or flu as well as shorten the duration of the sickness and so many more benefits like helping with aging, skin, and even blood pressure! I am not a medical professional so be sure to research this information and ask your doctor before starting anything new!
So, my little one doesn’t care to drink anything but water from her cup and i’ve had to get really creative to get her to take elderberry. I usually put it in applesauce, but I get uneasy giving her applesauce sometimes more than once a day to get her to take her elderberry so I wanted to come up with a new idea that had more nutritional benefits!
No Bake Elderberry Immunity Balls are the perfect solution! They are loaded with antioxidants and immune boosting foods (elderberry syrup, chia seeds and goji berries) and offer a nice protein punch to help with hunger (oats and peanut butter). Also, the mini chocolate chips just make it more fun for kids to eat. If you want more antioxidants, swap out the semi-sweet chocolate for dark chocolate (I used semi-sweet mini chips in this recipe because it fits in the balls better but I have used regular dark chocolate chips and it works just fine!).
The taste is peanut butter with a hint of sweet from the goji berries and a finishing touch of the warming spices in the elderberry syrup.
How to Make No Bake Elderberry Immunity Balls
Super quick and easy, just requiring one bowl and no kitchen appliances!
Start by adding your wet ingredients to a large bowl (peanut butter, maple syrup and elderberry syrup). If your peanut butter is cold and hard, make sure to microwave it a bit and stir it so it’s nice and smooth or else your mixture won’t mix!
Once your wet ingredients are well mixed, add your dry ingredients (oats, chia seeds, goji berries, chocolate chips and salt). Stir well.
Roll into medium size balls, using a tablespoon. Aim to make 18 balls as that will yield 1 tsp of elderberry per ball. The mixture will be sticky, although it’s still easy to roll into balls but you can put the mixture in the fridge for 20 minutes or so and then roll into balls.
Once rolled into balls, store in the fridge for about 30-45 minutes then serve! SO easy and nutritious!
I highly recommend buying your elderberry locally instead of store bought. Buying locally is more potent, less sugar and all around better for you, plus, always support local business! The elderberry I used for this recipe is from The Natural Nurse. She makes homemade elderberry and other salves! If you are local to SWFL, you can check out her Facebook page here.
Her elderberry recipe uses ingredients like hibiscus, ginger and cinnamon which pairs so well with peanut butter and goji berries! All of the ingredients compliment each other really well for a lovely, wholesome treat! I highly recommend using a homemade elderberry syrup for this recipe!!
If you make these, please let me know! Tag me @wholesome.crumbs on Instagram and post a photo!
No Bake Immunity Power Balls
vegan•gluten-free•no refined sugar•no bake Makes 18 medium size balls (1 ball= 1 tsp of elderberry)
Ingredients:1/2 cup natural peanut butter1/3 cup pure maple syrup 6 tablespoons (locally bought/ homemade) elderberry syrup*1 cup rolled oats (GF)1 cup quick cooking rolled oats (GF)1/2 tbsp chia seeds1/3 cup goji berries 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips salt to taste (don’t skip the salt unless your peanut butter is salted!)
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, combine peanut butter, maple syrup and elderberry syrup. Stir well.
- Then, add the rest of the ingredients. Stir well.
- Roll into medium size balls using a tablespoon. You’ll want to make 18 balls.
- Refrigerate for 30-45 minutes and serve!
Notes:
- *The taste result of these immunity balls has a lot to do with the lovely warming spices and herbs in the homemade elderberry syrup (cinnamon, hibiscus, star anise etc.) so I’m not sure how the end result would be with store bought syrup but if you try it, please let me know!
- Make sure your peanut butter is smooth, not hard. If your peanut butter is hard from being in the fridge, just microwave it for 10 seconds or so or until its becomes smooth. Stir it well.
- With 18 balls, each balls yields 1 tsp of elderberry.
- You don’t need to use two different kinds of oats, I just prefer it for textural reasons, You can easily use rolled or quick cooking!
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