Nut Butter Nuggets…Healthy? You Bet!
January 19, 2012 by Bobbi
Happy Thursday, HowDoesShe Gals!!! I’m so excited to introduce another amazing guest writer today. Meet Stephanie from “Natural Girl Diary” who is here to share a delicious AND healthy recipe that will have even your picky eaters coming back for more. Take it away, Stephanie!
Nut Butter Nuggets
When the New Year rolls around, it seems that at least one person in the family VOWS to be healthier. Easier said than done! This year, make your health resolution a little easier by replacing some of the usual snacks with super-tasty healthy snacks. Nuts (and therefore nut butters) are one of the best plant sources of protein. They are rich in fiber, antioxidants, and good fats like omega 3s. This post is one example that can add some healthy fats and incorporate fun toppings that you may not get your family to eat otherwise.
Start by measuring out all the ingredients. You will need to powder 1/3 cup of the oats by pulverizing them in a blender or food processor. Leave the other 1 cup whole.
Ingredients
1/3 cup natural peanut or almond butter
1 and 1/3 cups whole oats
1/3 cup honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Toppings
1/3 cup crushed nuts, dried fruit, coconut flakes, cocoa nibs or melted chocolate (whatever you love!)
You can see by the photo below that it doesn’t take a lot to make these flavor
packed snacks. Combine everything in a medium size bowl and mix together with
a fork. Finish thoroughly mixing with your hands.
Use a teaspoon, melon baller, or a small ice cream scoop to to make same sized balls out of the mixture. My 3 year old loves doing this part for me!
Roll the balls in coconut shreds, chopped nuts, or whatever you love to eat. I used trail mix pulsed in a blender that consisted of cashews, pistachios, golden raisins, dried white mulberries, dried goji berries and cocoa nibs.
Set coated nuggets on parchment or wax paper and place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to an hour to firm up or eat right away. Have them ready for your kids to eat when they get home from school and save them from the chips and cookies! See all 7 healthy, easy recipes like this on my website – NaturalGirlDiary.com
Hi! My name is Stephanie and I’m a mom of 2, artist, writer, foodie and health nut. My family is my passion but I also enjoy blogging, painting, yoga, and reading. Luckily, I love new adventures too because I have been kept on my toes with 8 moves in the last 9 years. Check out more of my stuff at www.NaturalGirlDiary.com
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Wow! These look delicious and like they could fool the kids into believing they’re a sweet! Hmmmm – I will have to play with this one a little bit! Thanks for sharing such a flexible recipe!
These look so yummy and easy – I love that they have so many possibilities! Healthy treats – can’t beat that. The other healthy snack ideas on your website are fantastic as well! Thanks for sharing, Stephanie!
You are so welcome, Missy. I love to be able to share and exchange ideas with other moms involved in the daily struggle to get kids eating healthier. Exchanging information is invaluable. For this reason, I am grateful for your site and the work that you do! May we all learn and grow together into the best moms and people we can be!
Oh just added the ingr to my list for tonight:) These will be so fun for my 3yo to help with! Not to mention a yummy & healthy snack for us ALL!!!! Thanks again for another great recipe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ooooo….yum! I can’t wait to try these. PB2 would make them even healthier: http://store.bellplantation.com/?Click=61653
Thanks!
http://www.sparklesandbugs.blogspot.com
Wow – I saw this post and thought “yum”, then realized I had all the ingredients! I just finished them and decided to drizzle with melted dark chocolate (covered with chocolate would be too much, IMO) and these are SO GOOD. And Super easy too!!! Thanks!
Awesome tip ~ I’m so glad you enjoyed them!
Ok so maybe I am missing it but what do you do with the 1/3 cups of oats that you pulverize? Mix that in then? Or use it for topping?
Add the pulverized oats right into the mix!
I can’t wait to try these.
These look awesome, thanks for the recipe!!
I am a diabetic and would love to know how many balls this recipe makes and what the nutritional values are- mainly carbs due to the honey! Thanks for any help you can give, they look delicious!!!
Great questions Michelle!
This recipe continously produces 20 balls each time I make them. I use the same size small ice cream scoop every time which results in approx. 1 inch size balls. Depending on what you use, it will yeild between 16 & 20. For the sake of helping you out with the nutritional value on the honey, let’s say the recipe will give you 18. 1/3 cup honey in this recipe contains approx. 40.5 grams fructose. Divide that by 18 and you get 2.25 grams of fructose per ball. It is not recommended to have more than 50 grams total fructose per day to avoid increased blood sugar levels. At most, I’ve eaten maybe 4 of these per day. Same with my kids. They provide such densely packed nutrition, you will most likely find yourself satisfied from consuming very few. Luckily, they keep nicely in the fridge. Be sure to read the ingredient label on honey, as doctors recommend a natural unprocessed honey for diabetics. Many brands on the market are not pure honey, but are actually artificially-colored high fructose corn syrup. I always use raw, unfiltered honey from my local co-op which is sourced from a local bee keeper. It’s less expensive and higher quality. Keep the quality high. I think you may find this link helpful: http://www.everydayhealth.com/diabetes-specialist/can-diabetics-eat-honey.aspx .
I hope I answered your questions!
My 10 yr old daughter made these in her I Can class at school. They are super delicious!