Gasp! Where have I been??
I’ve been proud of not taking any blogging breaks since I ran the heck away from quit teaching, but last week got the better of me! You know what really did it? The weather sucked (rain, rain, and more rain), which means I have no natural lighting for pictures. On the few days of semi-sunshine, I was too lazy to dirty some dishes and take a few pictures. It’s something I fight on a regular basis, but last week, the laziness won.
Lately I have found myself heading out the door with no packable snacks. Yes, I have dried fruit, but sometimes I get sick of just eating those every day, and I wanted something a little more interesting. Preferably something nutty. Having some dried apricots and almond butter to use up, I immediately set off to make an “energy ball” recipe that would be reminiscent of my beloved Peach & Almond Butter Oatmeal.
This was incredibly easy. Truthfully, I’ve never successfully made one of these recipes before (I tried once but my dates were too hard, so it failed miserably), so I was delighted when these turned out exactly as planned on the first try. Hizzah!
These raw and healthy little “truffles,” adapted from this recipe by Pralines and Greens, make an easy snack, but they have other uses, too. You could keep them in their truffle form, or you could make rectangles and create “energy bars,” like Lara Bars. You could break them into smaller pieces and load some atop your oatmeal. You could also make them into smaller balls and throw them in the freezer. Then, you can mix them into your next batch of “nice cream,” like little cookie dough bites!
Random Recommendations:
- [eats] Add avocado to your nice cream! It’s a great way to use up avocado if you have a lot to eat up quickly, and it gives your nice cream a richer texture.
- [eats] Nothing beats hot, freshly roasted chickpeas, but The Good Bean makes some great roasted chickpeas in fun flavors that are great for a convenient snack.
- [reads] My latest Thought Catalog article: Why I Stopped Watching Friends. (At least, that’s the title I gave them before they changed it to clickbait.)
What you'll need:
- 1 and 1/2 cups oats (old-fashioned or quick)
- 2 tablespoons chia seeds
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
- 8 dried apricots, diced into smaller pieces
- 4 tablespoons water
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup almond butter
How to make it:
- Add ingredients except almond butter to a food processor and process in short bursts several times.
- Add half the almond butter and repeat. (I had better luck when I didn’t add the almond butter all at once, but this may differ based on your specific food processor.)
- Add the rest of the almond butter and repeat, processing in short bursts until mixture is combined and has a cookie dough consistency.
- Roll the balls so they are somewhere between 1-2 inches in diameter. If desired, you could roll these in something like coconut, sesame sides, crushed nuts, etc.
- Store in the fridge. According to the recipe I adapted this from, it should be good for 5-7 days.
Just an FYI:
Adapted from this recipe. *I used Barney Butter smooth almond butter, which contains palm oil, so it's a little thicker than many almond butters. You may need less water if your almond butter is runnier.
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