
Here Claire Grady, Nutritional Therapist tells us about growing her own little boys and recommends these no-cook energy bites, with seaweed sprinkles.
Claire Grady is a qualified Nutritional Therapist and advocate for healthy eating
& lifestyle medicine. She graduated in 2013 from the College of Naturopathic
Medicine and is an active member of Nutritional Therapists of Ireland (NTOI).
She is the owner of ANU Wellness a client-centred, functional medicine based
Nutritional Therapy practice based in Galway. At ANU Wellness we focus on
individualized nutrition and lifestyle recommendations to help people achieve
optimal health and wellbeing of the mind, body and spirit. Claire is passionate
about using food as medicine and the tradition of using food and herbs to help
her clients achieve their individual health and wellness goals.
Womens’ health is an area close to Claire’s heart and she strives to use her
knowledge and education to empower to women take care of themselves so that
they can in turn care for others. Women are ever changing throughout their lives
and educating women on how their bodies’ work and how we can look after our
health through food and lifestyle choices plays a big role in her Nutritional
Therapy practice.
Personally, Claire is no stranger to the challenges and struggles of maintaining a
healthy balance in order to achieve her own health and wellness goals and is
always willing to share her personal insight while walking her own wellness
path. After all those who have struggled the most have the most to teach us.
This recipe is a hit with everyone in the family and I really enjoy making these
energy balls/bars with my oldest son who is only 2 years old.
The earlier you can
involve them in the food prep and cooking process the more I feel they will be
interested in foods and in turn eating a variety of foods. It’s a mainly enjoyable
process to bake / cook with your kids if you can get your head around all the
mess!
The biggest challenge to growing happy, healthy eaters is to find the patience
and tolerance for their continuous change in tastes and preferences.
Like most things with parenthood patience is the key. If your child turns their
nose up at a certain food or meal, that you’ve spent ages cooking or taken the
time to combine foods to make a healthy and balanced meal please don’t be
disheartened.
Just like adults they have phases of foods that appeal to them and foods that
don’t. You aren’t always going to get it right and the children are allowed their
prerogative.
I try and get feedback from the boys as to what they feel like eating in the phase
they are in. I continue to offer them everything that I eat and allow them to try
foods from my plate. This allows them a little more autonomy over their food
choices and it allows them to take ownership of the meals and the food they eat.
They’re not trying to be difficult around meal time however often it’s their only
way of expressing themselves and their individuality throughout the day and so
they want to make it their own.
What you need
250g Almond Butter (Brands: Meridian, Lifeforce, Monki)
100g of Raw Local Honey / Maple Syrup / Agave Syrup
150g Oats – roasted in the oven with Himalayan or Sea Salt (180C for 8-
10mins)
100g Organic Milled Linseeds / Flaxseed
100g Chocolate Chips (Dark / Milk / White)
100g of Flaked Almonds
½ tsp of Seaweed Sprinkles (Brand: Wild Irish SeaVeg)
½ tsp Himalayan / Sea Salt
125g Ground Almonds
¼ tsp of Org Ground Cinnamon
*Optional Extras: Add a tsp of Manuka Honey to immune-charge your energy
balls/bars
What to do
1 Mix all of the wet ingredients (honey / almond butter) together in a bowl.
2 Add in all of the dry ingredients (oats / flaxseed / flaked almonds /
chocolate chips / seaweed / salt).
3 Stir all of them together to get a cookie dough consistency.
4 Using a spoon scoop out the mix and roll in your hands to form a ball.
5 In a separate bowl add the ground almonds and cinnamon – add in two
energy bites at a time and shake the bowl to coat the snack.
*Alternatively if you wish to make energy bars – add the cookie dough
mixture to a baking paper lined tray and flatten with the back of a spoon.
6 Sprinkle the ground almonds and cinnamon mixture over the top.
7 Chill the balls / bars in the fridge and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
8 Enjoy them with a mid-morning or mid-afternoon cup of tea