Lately I have been trying to focus on changing one thing at a time with my diet. What I am currently focusing on is removing as much processed foods as I can. By removing this, it also tends to remove artificial/chemical ingredients which I really like. I have long since decided I would rather eat real sugar than the chemical-laden sweeteners (especially since I hardly ever drink juice or soda). I will say that I didn’t gain a single pound by making this change, of course, probably because I don’t drink much soda, but just know it’s possible!
I have made the change pretty easily since I tend to shop in mostly the produce, dairy and meat sections, but one place where I still struggle is in my snacks. I tend to grab a protein bar (Luna or Cliff) or a granola bar. There could definitely be worse things for me to eat, but if you look at the ingredients of these things…… I probably only recognize 5 of them. Plus, when you have 2 or 3 snacks a day, the money really adds up. For both of these reasons I recently went on a search for an all natural, protein filled snack. Oh, and I also wanted something quick and easy because I am lazy. My laziness worked in my favor, because the first recipe I found was great! But then my laziness backfired because I forgot to pin it and couldn’t find it again. So, another search produced another recipe that I like even more. I tried two recipes, made some changes , and now have one of my favorite recipes. This tastes fantastic. Seriously. And if it takes you more than 5 minutes, then maybe you grew and made your own oats and peanut butter or something, because it comes together crazy fast.
Feel free to substitute any ingredients based on your tastes or allergies. Instead of the peanut butter feel free to use almond butter or soy nut butter. I used natural Jiff and it came out great.
Peanut Butter Protein balls
1/4 cup ground flax seed
1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats (I only had quick cooking and they still turned out great)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
A little less than a 1/3 cup of honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream together peanut butter, applesauce, honey and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flax seed, oats and salt. Mix in chocolate chips. Place bowl in fridge for 10 minutes to let it chill. Once chilled roll into balls and then store in a plastic bag for easy transport.
1 1/4 cups old fashioned oats (I only had quick cooking and they still turned out great)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
A little less than a 1/3 cup of honey
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Cream together peanut butter, applesauce, honey and vanilla until well blended. Stir in flax seed, oats and salt. Mix in chocolate chips. Place bowl in fridge for 10 minutes to let it chill. Once chilled roll into balls and then store in a plastic bag for easy transport.
I really hope you try this recipe. It’s certainly a life changer to realize it is so not necessary to spend money on a processed snack when you can make something SO quickly that is much more healthful and inexpensive. Plus, you get the added bonus of being able to make (intended) puns all day! Only one warning, they may be too delicious to control yourself. Be right back, going to go grab some balls right now! :)
Caribbean living does not make it easy to find some things...so I'm on a quest to find almond butter or soy nut butter...Wish me luck!
ReplyDeleteShaday, I always forget about that! I'm not sure if you have any health food stores by you but sometimes at a health food store they will grind up whatever nuts you want. Or at a health food store they would probably have other options already in jars to buy. If you felt adventurous you could make some yourself!
ReplyDeletePlace the almonds in a food processor. Process on high until ground almonds begin to form a ball. Drizzle olive oil over almonds and continue to process, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. Store in an airtight container.