Carrot-Date Energy Ballz

Right now in the valley of the sun it smells sickly sweet like orange blossom heaven. It only last for a few short days when the dozens of orange trees that line so many streets here in Arizona start to bloom. The petite white flowers make me swoon as I drive home from work taking in deep breaths of the fragrant, cool March air. Add that to the brilliant multi colored desert sunsets behind the darkening mountains that surround us here and I am in euphoria.






It makes me miss one of my closest and dearest friends, Becky. She went to school with me here in Phoenix many, many years   not to long ago and the blooming orange trees were one of her most favorite things. She moved back to her home town of Indianapolis shortly after we graduated but she keeps coming back here to visit me as often as life permits...... usually around orange blossom season. I so do wish I could bottle up natures most perfect fragrance for her.

PHOTO CREDIT

I'm glad that this no-cook, no-fuss sweet and healthy snack that I'm going to share with you has orange zest in the ingredient list, otherwise my little story would seem superfluous, because I always have a well thought out point to my ramblings and didn't want to throw you all off......  errrr.


I just love healthy grab-and-go snacks, especially when they take all of 10 minutes to throw together. I cringe when I see people with all of the boxed, processed "health" snacks in their carts and wonder if they really believe that they are healthy and convenient.

I found this recipe on Skinny Jeans Food and was pleasantly surprised at how amazing these little snacks were. I was a bit skeptical about the raw oat thing but they turned out to be one of our new favorite snacks. Sweet, simple and the orange zest really made the flavors POP.

Eight ingredients, THAT'S IT!

Using a food processor to finely shred your carrots is key to getting the ballz to stick together.

Chia Seeds are an excellent source of fiber, fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and antioxidants. They are also the richest source of Omega-3 fatty acids among non-marine whole food items

I used barley oats instead of regular oats because they were in my freezer but after doing some research it seems that barley oats are higher in {nutritional} calories and a bit lower in fiber and protein than regular oats. So unless someone knows of a good reason other than to help your teenage wrestling champion put on some weight than I'm going to stick with regular whole oats next time.

Grind the oats to a fine consistency in your food processor.

Silvia at Skinny Jeans Foods named these wonderful goodies Amaze Ballz  and  fittingly so. I enjoyed them at work for an afternoon pick me up and just two of them kept me satisfied until dinner.  I brought a couple with me hiking for an energy boost and packed them in kids lunch boxes for a fun surprise.

Skinny Foods site is dedicated to single serving portions for those of you without an army to feed. I obviously had to double this recipe. They didn't last long between school snacks and me grabbing a couple every day to take with me on my adventures. Next time I will make even more as they keep well in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Amaze Ballz


1/2 cup rolled oats

5 medjool dates (the organic ones at whole foods are amazing!)

7 walnut halves, chopped

1 TB chia seeds

zest of one orange

1/2 TB maple syrup

1/2 ts vanilla extract

1 carrot, grated

Pour the rolled oats in the food processor and chop until finely ground. Remove the pit of the medjool dates, and chop them with a knife. Add piece by piece to the ground oatmeal flour (so that they distribute better). Process long enough that the mix starts to get sticky. Now add the remaining ingredients, and processes until the mix comes together (quite a sticky dough). Take small portions and roll them between your hands in a ball like shape. Store in the fridge! Enjoy!

1 amazeball: 54kcal

This post is linked to:

Cinnamon and Spice Bread with Dates and Walnuts

This afternoon I made the World's Best Bread, otherwise known as "Mission Impossible" in our house.
Honestly, have you ever tried to bake something with 4 kids in the house? Not so straight forward. But I did it and I'd do it again for this amazing bread. In fact, I'm really having a hard time calling it a bread. It's so delicious and wonderful it's really more of a cake without all the sugar. I've lovingly adapted this recipe from one of my fav blogs, Anja's Food For Thought.  I added nutmeg and cloves for extra Fall aroma's ( we'll take all we can get here in Phoenix) and subbed chopped dates for the raisins because I already had them and I added walnuts to the bread and topping. Just look at this list of ingredients, so healthy and delicious!
I strongly suggest you try this bread whatever obstacles may be hindering you from baking!! It's all kinds of worth it! Before you start baking away, take a peek at Anja's amazing blog! She has a truly natural and healthy approach to eating and I have personally made several of her delicious and simple recipes.

ummmm, ignore the fact that half of the loaf of bread seems to be missing.....

YIELDS  1 small loaf, I doubled this for 1 large loaf
You Will Need:

1/2 cup rolled oats

1/3 cup warm milk

1/2 cup chopped dates or raisins

1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1/4 cup olive oil

1/3 cup palm sugar ( I used Raw, Organic sugar)

2 eggs

1/4 cup plain, fat free yogurt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Topping

1/4 cup rolled oats

1/4 cup walnuts, chopped

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon palm sugar

1 tablespoon butter



Putting it all together:
Combine oats, warm milk and dates in bowl, cover, let stand for 20-30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line loaf tin with parchment paper.

Beat butter and sugar in  bowl or stand mixer until smooth. Add eggs, one at a time. Whisk until well incorporated, before adding the next one. Stir in yogurt and vanilla. Stir in oat mixture.

In another bowl, sift together flour, baking soda and spices. Combine wet and dry ingredients.

For the topping, combine oats, nuts, cinnamon and sugar in a small bowl. Rub in butter with your finger tips or using a small spoon until mixture becomes crumbly.

Pour cake batter into prepared loaf tin. Sprinkle with topping . Bake for 45-50 minutes or until toothpick come out clean. ( if you double the recipe add 10-13 more minutes bake time)  Let cool in the tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack to cool completely.