Let’s talk energy balls…you can’t get away from them can you? They’re the current healthy snack du jour and they are everywhere. Yet even though the principal of them is essentially the same – healthy ingredients squished together and rolled into balls – having eaten rather a lot of them myself there are some that are without doubt tastier than others.
So I’m sure you can understand where I’m coming from when I say that whenever I get sent this type of product I immediately roll my eyes and start desperately flicking through my trusty thesaurus to come up with some new and innovative words to describe nuts, seeds and the like!
But then, every now and again, something comes along that surprises me, and that’s where Go Nutz rocked my energy ball world.
Because you see, they’re energy balls, but they’re not shaped like balls, they’re like little mini jelly shapes. And they come wrapped in gold foil (always gonna get my attention!) in a box, which mistake me if I’m wrong, bears a striking resemblance to a box of chocolates. And I am ALL over that!
I grant you the box ain’t exactly polished, it’s all a bit work in progress, but this is a start up fledgling business with the product originally created as a nutrition boost for their children and they are now developing the brand to sell the products online.
But enough about the look, because box aside the actual energy balls themselves look proper professional and I am seriously in love with the unique shape of them. In my mind, pop a cute sticker under each gold wrapped ball with details of flavour etc, bung in some tissue or shredded paper into the box and make the box out of a higher grade cardboard and label it up a treat and you’ve got a seriously good product on your hands. It’ll come with time and money and word of mouth about the quality food inside.
So let’s move onto the taste, ‘cos that’s what it’s all about. Go Nutz currently make 6 different flavours:
- Aromatic Cardamom
- Spicy Ginger
- Crunchy Sea Salt
- Indulgent Orange Coco
- Exotic Mango
- Romantic Rose
They’re all vegan, gluten free, dairy free, free from preservatives, free from artificial colours and free from emulsifiers, so that’s pretty much everyone covered right!?! And to top it all off each one is between 90-96 calories and contain only natural unrefined sugars and plenty of complex carbs in the shape of nuts and seeds – they are proper foodie power houses!
Go Nutz have taken their inspiration from ingredients that have been used in their families food and recipes throughout the generations and it’s clear that they are incredibly passionate about real food and the power of good, wholesome, natural ingredients.
But what I want to know, as I’m sure may other parents out there will want to know, is…will my kids eat them?
I’m always trying to come up with different healthy options to put in my kids lunchboxes, sometimes they’ll eat the stuff I put in there, sometimes they won’t, and unfortunately because of nut allergies, their school doesn’t allow them to take nut products in their packed lunches. I don’t want them to miss out on the vast nutritional benefits that come from nuts, so I took them along on the school run to see what they’d make of them as after school snacks, and of course I might have had a nibble too…well it would be rude not to 😉
Exotic Mango
The minute this went into the kids’ mouths their faces lit up and the words ‘woah that’s so nice’ were uttered. OK, well that’s a result then! Sweet, sticky tasting mango, but a mango flavour that tasted real not synthetic like some snacks can taste like. Absolutely delicious.
Crunchy Sea Salt
This one had a slightly harder texture than the mango one and was far less sweet, so I imagined my daughter who has a ridiculously sweet tooth may not be so keen to try this one. OK I confess, I didn’t actually tell her what the flavour was before she popped it into her mouth, but hey sometimes a mum’s gotta do what a mum’s gotta do! Surprisingly however, we got a ‘Mmmmm’ from Little Miss Fusspot and she ended up liking this one more than her brother, who has a preference for savoury things. Really yummy, ingredients chopped up to just the right size so that you can taste each and every element of it without being too smooth or too chunky.
Spicy Ginger
I love ginger and this was hands down my fave of the lot. Both kids loved it – I chose not to mention the word spicy – and even though it does have quite a fiery kick to it, neither of them batted an eyelid. Soft, chewy and a tongue tingling after taste this is a winner.
Chocolate Orange
Again both kids liked this one, probably helped by the fact it was labelled chocolate, well it deffo worked for me anyway. Slightly chewier and the orange flavour comes across more than the chocolate, but it tasted luxurious and like a treat and dare I say it I think I’d be happy eating this instead of a bar of chocolate.
Aromatic Cardomom
This is the most savoury tasting of the bunch and certainly isn’t going to be to everyone’s taste. I think with a strong flavour like cardamom you either like it or you don’t; I did, the kid’s didn’t.
Romantic Rose
I love anything remotely floral tasting so was looking forward to trying this one the most. The kids wouldn’t go near it; I think the boy ruled it out as too girly and the girl couldn’t handle the fact she’d be eating flowers, whereas I personally love the fact you can see the dried rose petals. It has an oaty taste with the rose flavour emerging at the end. Crumblier than the others, slightly drier tasting, not my favourite, but nice none the less. I think I would have liked a bit of cacao chucked in with this one, but then I am a complete and utter chocaholic!
I absolutely love that these came as a selection pack and I’m really hoping that Go Nutz decide to keep this format, as the appeal of a healthy alternative to a box of chocolates I think is immense. Both the taste and look of these energy balls are all very different to what I have tested in this market before and I have high expectations for this company in the future.
At the moment orders are being taken through the contact form on the Go Nutz website, but a new online shop is coming real soon so keep ’em peeled!
*Product gifted for review
