When I was young, somewhere around age three, maybe four, my mom decided our family was going to embrace vegetarianism. It was fairly forward thinking for the time, but also short-lived, because today both my parents are committed carnivores.
I don’t remember much from those days, but I do recall trips to our town’s only natural foods store to purchase bulk binned grains and other pantry necessities. The creaky wooden floors held large round drums filled with assorted spreads and baking ingredients, and I loved the scent wafting from the creamy and crunchy roasted peanut butters. Our new eating plan must’ve included the abandonment of the popular but processed items from our kitchen cupboards, because Skippy sandwich spread was out and that gloriously fragrant pure peanut butter was definitely in.
Fortunately, in order to access healthy ingredients today you don’t need to make a trip to a specialty shop. Most supermarkets are well stocked with the healthy, natural items you need, and if not, bulk food stores are pretty widespread these days. I visited mine on the weekend and loaded up on organic crunchy peanut butter and assorted nuts and seeds in order to fill our fridge with grab-and-go power balls and protein bars for the men in my life. The big boys in our family have joined a gym, and their almost-daily workouts are exercising my ability to keep them fed and feeling full.
Enter the oatmeal power ball. Loaded with fibre, protein, and plenty of seeds, this just might be the best thing I’ve made for them recently (okay, the pulled beef poutine is pretty high up on the list, too). And hey, even if you aren’t a treadmill-running teenage boy you’ll probably like having this no-bake, grab-and-go snack in your fridge for the kids who might be playing spring sports or those of you spending a lot of time outside cutting your lawn and grooming your garden.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Power Balls
Feel free to use almond or sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter, if you prefer.
Makes 26-30
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 cup all-natural crunchy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup liquid honey
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 Tbsp. flax seed
- 2 Tbsp. chia seeds
- 2 Tbsp. hemp hearts
- Large pinch kosher salt
1. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, combine all of the ingredients pulsing until they come together and are fully mixed. Cover, transfer to the refrigerator, and chill for a minimum of 30 minutes.
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and using a tablespoon measure, shape the oatmeal mixture into balls. Place them on the prepared baking sheet and chill for 30 minutes before serving.
3. Store any uneaten power balls in the fridge for up to 5 days.
