Energy Balls, Training & My Never-Ending Sweet Tooth 😄

If you know me, you’ll know two things are basically my personality: training… and food.

Probably food first, if I’m being completely truthful. 😂

And this whole energy ball thing actually started because I was so over the “healthy” snacks that promised everything and delivered absolutely zilch. (Is zilch still a word? Well, it is now.)

You know the ones I mean...

As a vegan, I see the words PLANT BASED on a packet and i think awesome!!!  Obviously I don’t buy one pack to try first like a normal  person. I buy  10 because I get super excited and think this is THE one... 

Then I open it…

Dry, Chalky, Weird aftertaste.

That slightly artificial protein-y flavour that seems to stay in your mouth for the next three working days.

Nope. definitely not the one...

I have tried  so many plant-based snacks, balls and bites and kept thinking, surely someone can make one that actually tastes amazing?

Eventually I thought… nah, not happening so just made my own! 

And boy, was THAT a process... 

Definitely a story for another blog because there were some questionable batches along the way.... 

But somewhere amongst all the experimenting, creating, tweaking, tasting and starting again, my energy balls were born.

And eventually, so was SIMPLE SABINA EATS

I genuinely couldn’t be prouder of how far my little balls have come. (Sorry. Had to. 😂) did I mention i am professional ball roller ? 

So why do I love them before training?

I train a lot, check out my other social if you don't believe me @simply_sabina, but I’m not someone who can eat a big meal and then head straight into the gym , i think i would barf...

But I also don’t enjoy training on empty and suddenly realising halfway through that I’m running on fumes. i get hangry fast...

Enter… the little energy ball...

One or two before I train and I’m sorted.

My energy balls contain ingredients such as dates, oats, chia seeds and nut butters, depending on the flavour.

The dates and oats provide carbohydrates, an important source of energy for exercise. The  The other ingredients make them feel a bit more substantial than just grabbing something sugary.

But in normal Sabina language?

They give me a little something in the tank without making me feel stuffed.

Grab one. Eat it. Train.

Done. Boom.

No blender. No elaborate pre-workout meal. No standing in the kitchen wondering what on earth to eat. And yes, sometimes I eat one while putting my trainers  on or in the car while driving to the gym...  We're keeping this super  realistic... 

Can we talk about the texture though?

Because THIS was my biggest issue with shop-bought energy balls.

Why are so many of them so dry?!

Some of them genuinely taste like cardboard with ambition.

I just kept thinking.....(I  love thinking) 

Why does something being “healthy” mean we have to suffer through eating it?

"It's healthy, Sabina. Just eat it."

No thank you.

Life is too short.

And don't even get me started on matcha.

I CAN'T DO IT. Sorry, matcha lovers. I've tried. 

So when I started developing my own energy balls, texture became a complete obsession.

I wanted them soft, sweet and moist.

Yes, I said moist.

We're all adults. We can cope. They should feel like you're eating an actual treat, not something you're forcing down because the packet told you it's good for you.

My non-negotiables

Every batch gets quality checked multiple times while I'm making it.

And by “quality checked” I obviously mean I eat bits of it throughout the entire process.

It's called quality control, people. Very professional.

My rules are simple:

Soft.

Moist.

Sweet enough to feel like a treat.

Loads of flavour.

NO weird protein aftertaste.

If I wouldn't happily eat it myself, it doesn't make the cut. simple

And considering I am probably Simply Sabina Eats' biggest customer, the bar is pretty high. 

The funny thing? Most of my customers aren't vegan

This is probably one of my favourite things about the whole business.

Around 90% of the people who buy my energy balls aren't actually plant-based.

They just like them.

And THAT is exactly what I wanted.

I never wanted someone to bite into one and say:

"Oh… that's quite nice… for something vegan."

No.

I want:

“Oh my GOD, that's good.”

Then you can tell them it's plant-based afterwards. 😂

Plant-based food doesn't need to be worthy, boring or taste like it's missing something.

It can just be really, really good food.

Fuel or treat? Why choose?

I also have a serious sweet tooth.

And let's just say perimenopause hasn't exactly made that disappear. 😄

So I love that my energy balls sit somewhere between fuel and treat.

Before training? Yup!

Mid-afternoon when I'm d looking for something sweet? Yup! 

With a coffee? Absolutely YES! 

Standing in the kitchen eating one directly  from a fresh batch when I'm technically supposed to be packaging them? (quality control, yup!)

There isn't really a complicated rule about when I eat them.

Sometimes it's one before training. Sometimes it's two because I'm hungrier. Sometimes it's got absolutely nothing to do with the gym and I just fancy one.

That's real life.

Handmade just hits different

Maybe I'm biased.

Okay… I am DEFINITELY biased.

But handmade energy balls just hit differently.

Mine aren't designed to sit on a supermarket shelf for months.

I make them in small batches, and I'm constantly checking the taste and texture as I go.

Every flavour is slightly different, but that same rule applies to all of them:

Soft. Sweet. Moist. Full of flavour.

That's what I wanted when I couldn't find it in the shops.

So I made it myself.

And somehow, what started with me standing in my kitchen thinking “surely I can make a better energy ball than this?” turned into Simply Sabina Eats.

I still eat them before I train.

I still eat them with my coffee.

I still pinch bits from every batch.

And I still get ridiculously happy when someone tries one for the first time and gives me that look.

You know the look.

The “hang on… this is actually REALLY good” look. 😂

That, for me, is what Simply Sabina Eats is all about.

Good ingredients.

Good food.

No cardboard.

And absolutely no pretending that matcha tastes nice.

Sorry again, matcha lovers. 😂

Sabina x