Guest Post: Almond Butter Balls

Hi all, Annie’s sister, Kathleen here! I am excited to be back guest blogging today on Take A Bite, especially because I get to blog about one of my favorite food groups—snacks!

I am not sure what doctors recommend as the daily serving of snacks (well, yes I do, but I ignore that) but I get a healthy four servings of snacks a day. Like yesterday, for example, I had granola at 9:45 A.M., pretzels at 1:00 P.M., pumpkin spice popcorn at 1:15 P.M., and wasabi peas at 4:00 P.M.

I never met a snack I didn’t like and I could medal in the Grazing Olympics. A handful here, a handful there, cheese, graham crackers, chips and dip, raisins, apples and almond butter… the list goes on and on of all my favorites.

Speaking of almond butter—it is one of my favorite snacks and also one of the main ingredients in one of my new favorite snacks. I made these snack balls about two weeks ago and have made them twice since. They are the perfect two-bite snack that will tide you over for hours. Plus, they only have five ingredients (most of which you will already have in your pantry!

Almond Butter Oatmeal Balls adapted from  Purely Elizabeth
yields about 8 balls

Ingredients:
½ cup almond butter (or peanut butter)
3 Tbsps. maple syrup
1 tsp. coconut oil
A pinch of salt
1 cup oats

Directions:
Prepare a sheet pan or large plate by placing parchment paper to cover the surface.

Heat a small saucepan over medium heat and combine the first four ingredients, stirring until fully combined. Take the mixture off of the heat and stir in the oats, mixing until fully combined. (A thick mixture should form that should not be wet but easy to work with using your hands.)

Using a small cookie scoop or your hands, form balls (or scoops) with about two tablespoons of mixture, forming compact balls of dough. Place each ball on the sheet pan or plate, continuing to forms the balls until all the mixture has been used. Place the sheet pan or plate in the freezer to chill and set for at least an hour. After an hour you can store the balls in a sealed container until you eat them all!

Until next time,

Kathleen