I don't know about you, but I need a good go to easy snack that will fill me and keep me from eating the really unhealthy quick convenient food found ,well everywhere!
I remember getting introduced my first Larabar and realizing there were at most 4 ingredients in them. These cost about $1.89 wherever you are which is pretty spendy if you ask me. So we buy them as our road trip food, special snacks, because they are crazy expensive, and because just one doesn't fill me or the kids up.
Then I had a friend come to my house with a tray of her own homemade Larabars. At that point, I thought she was the smartest person on the planet. Seriously, why didn't I think of that. Well, I started making them. I would buy my nuts at Costco or Trader Joe's or a wholesaler online. Then I would stock up on dates from Costco as well.
One day while I was cutting another section out of our pan, I realized that I could probably roll the raw ingredients together and create a "cookie ball". If I call it a cookie will my kids think its a cookie? The answer was yes!
So these little guys are SO easy to make and they are incredibly healthy, tasty, and truly a protein power snack. They curb my late afternoon cravings every time. I can also include them in my kids lunch and they think they are getting a treat. It's beautiful. Now I am not the first person to come up with idea by any means, and you can still smash your ingredients into a cookie sheet and make bars, or you smash into a cookie cutter for shapes, or just roll dates in nuts, whatever you want. Get creative. Just remember, this the foundation recipe for you to add in your own personal taste, flavor, and imagination. I also recommend going to the store and looking at different flavored snack bars to help get the creativity flowing. Enjoy!
Protein Power Snack Balls/Raw cookie ball
1 cup nuts (I like using walnuts or pecans but cashew and almonds work great too!)
1 cup pitted dates
1/4 cup raisins (you could also use craisins, but I can't find any without added sugar)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon flax or chia seeds
1/4 teaspoon salt
***Remember, this is the foundation/base recipe. After this you can add either of the following to alter the flavor. I don't recommend adding all these together, unless you like those fountain drinks where you add a little bit of every pop on tap. That's just gross. I'm just sayin.
2 Tablespoons of any of the following:
Coconut flakes
Sunflower butter
Almond butter
Applesauce
Pumpkin puree
Mashed Banana
Finely chopped Pear
Raspberry jam
Maple Syrup
In your food processor, finely chop the nuts. Dump those in a bowl and add the rest of the dry ingredients. Then add the date and raisins to the food processor and grind until it forms a ball. Dump your date ball into the bowl. Roll up your sleeves because the only way to get this combined is by using your hands. (I am automatically assuming you washed your hands, so I won't put that in here.) Smash it all up till everything in said bowl is combined.
At this point, dump it on a cookie sheet and press it down till it is even and lying flat.
OR
Take a small amount and roll it into a ball. Put finished cookie ball into a glass container and when all the balls are rolled, keep them stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Nuts get acidy when they are chopped and not refrigerated.
Enjoy!
If you have another great flavor, let me know so we can try something new!