Hey my foodies and non-foodies alike. School is in full swing for my two daughters which means leaving early and coming home pretty late. And all though I like to think of my children as always being so full of energy, I know they need a little boost sometimes. I had been hunting for a snack idea for them that would give them energy and have healthy ingredients minus the chocolate and peanuts since they are allergic. I came across the energy balls or bites. These were perfect because I could tailor them to each of my kids. So I ended up making apple cinnamon balls and blueberry almond balls, each with different type of butters. And better still, there was no bake involved. So here is what I used:
4 cups of rolled oats (2 cups each batch)
2 cups ground flaxseed (1 cup each batch)
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut (1 cup each batch)
1 cup of honey ( half cup each)
1 teaspoon salt (half teaspoon each)
1 cup of almond butter
1 cup of sunflower seed butter
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract (1 teaspoon each batch)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ground cloves
1 cup of dried blueberries
1 cup of sliced almonds
1 cup of dried apple rings cut into bite sizes
1 baking sheet lined with wax paper or parchment
2 large mixing bowls
For all the oatmeal, I warmed in a frying pan to make the oats a bit easier to incorporate. I used my favorite Red Cooper Frying. If you want to go and get it, her is my Amazon Affiliate link. I love this pan so much!!!
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So to each mixing bowl add in 1 cup of ground flaxseed, 2 cups of oats, 1 cup coconut, half cup of honey, teaspoon of vanilla extract and half teaspoon of salt.
Each cup of butters, you want to melt a bit in the microwave to make it easier to handle.
For the apple cinnamon batch: add in the tablespoon of cinnamon and ground cloves, the almond butter and the pieces of dried apple. Mix well
For the blueberry Almond batch: add in the dried blueberry and sliced almonds and the melted sunflower seed butter. Mix well.
Now the fun part for those who love to get there hands messy, so it is a great cooking activity for kids. Time to roll out the balls. If when you begin to roll the balls out and you find that they are breaking apart, this is because they are to dry and you need to add a few tablespoons of water to help them roll easier.
Make the balls as big or small as you like them. I used a healthy tablespoon size and formed a tight ball in my hand, then place them on the bake sheet.
Once everything is rolled out, place then in the fridge for 20 minutes so they can set, after which you want to store them in a airtight container. They should keep for over a week or so, however if you get the response that I received at my house, they will barely last 4 days or so.
If you would like to see the actually process, head over to my YouTube and checkout the video her at Energy Balls | Apple Cinnamon…
Until next time, Cook Eat Enjoy!!!!
