Hello To All My Foodistas!
Can you believe that it is already April? This year is flying by already. Thankfully, April means that we are closer to summer! Unfortunately, you know what that means; we are even closer to Bikini Season! Now that we have all the holidays behind us, it is the perfect time to start eating healthy. Healthy meals are important as always, but I feel as if sometimes we forget about snacks. I know some of my friends tend to not want to snack at all, while others (like me) are always feeling like they need a snack! Good news: snacking is actually good for you: that is, if you are choosing the right ones. I know that I am always checking nutrition labels for calorie, fat, and sugar content in snacks, which at times can be daunting. Did you know that some yogurts pack in around 24 grams of sugar? That is A LOT of sugar for something so tiny, don’t you think? Knowing that most of you food-forward readers probably have my same mindset on snacking, I am going to offer you a recipe that makes for the perfect easy snack: No Bake Granola Balls! These are great because 1.they are simple, and 2. they are full of healthy, wholesome ingredients that will satisfy you in just one bite! Another thing that is great about these granola balls are that a lot of the ingredients are interchangeable, so you can use what you have in your dorm rooms/ apartments! And if you don’t have these ingredients on hand, trust me and buy them, as they will not go to waste after one taste of these delicious balls of energy!
This is what you will need to make about 20:
• 1 cup unsalted, dry roasted peanuts
• ½ cup honey
• ½ cup walnuts or cashews (either one works well)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 pinch of salt
• 2 TBS ground flaxseed or Chia Seeds (either one works well, you will find this in most health food sections of your local grocery store!)
• 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• ¼ cup of chocolate chips (I like to use the mini semi-sweet!)
Instructions:
1.Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2.In a food processor, blender, or magic bullet, (use what you have!) grind the peanuts with the ‘s’ blade until finely chopped, but not to a paste-like consistency – we’re not making peanut butter! Add the honey, nuts, vanilla, salt and ground flaxseed or chia seeds. Pulse until all the ingredients are well combined. The consistency should still be a little chunky.
3.Add the oats and pulse until thoroughly mixed. You may have to scrape the sides of the processor/blender a few times as the dough will be very thick.
4.Pour the dough into a bowl and with your hands mix in the chocolate chips. This is important because you don’t want to break the chips with the blender!
5.Wet your hands with a little water to prevent the dough from sticking, pinch off pieces of the dough and roll into bite size balls. Place granola balls on the parchment lined baking sheet and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
(adapted from Kristin Schell)
I hope you all get the chance to try these out, as they are a delicious, tasty snack that are actually HEALTHY and allow for guilt-free snacking! They’re even better when you accompany them with a piece of fruit!
Happy Snacking!
xo Lauren