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.
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
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