I am a fool for this snack ball trend.

They are so good! So easy to pull together! So much better to snack on then junk food!

The one thing they don’t have going for them is a good name- Nut Balls is just awful. So is Snack Balls. Energy Balls? Nut Butter Balls? A little bit better, but not by much. I think I’ll quit before this becomes an entire post about naming snack balls. (Ugh, I even hate typing that!)

Let’s call them snack bites instead, shall we?

I feel a lot better about snack bites. My mood is changing already!

I found this lovely recipe at The Gracious Pantry and of course I junked it up with more nut butters and extra seeds and things. I couldn’t resist! They just needed to be rolled in something.

I have to admit, though, that I actually like the plain ones better. The sesame seeds get stuck in my teeth (awesome mental picture of me happening right now, you’re welcome). Don’t let that stop you now, both taste great- you could roll them in shredded coconut, too, if you’re more into that.

I think these will keep in the fridge or freezer for quite a while, but I can’t tell you from experience. They go fast in this house. Last night, I pulled some out for the family to taste test and the kids full-on grabbed them from my hands and devoured them, then looked at me like rabid dogs until I brought out a few more. My one-year-old daughter literally shoved a whole one into her mouth without a second thought. It was like watching a snake swallow an egg or something, I couldn’t look away. My advice is to make these after your kids go to bed and hide them in the back of your freezer if you ever want to taste them. Just sayin’.

(Disclaimer- She didn’t actually swallow it whole, she did chew.. I would not stand idly by and watch her choke, I promise.)

Oh, and they’re called spiced nut butter balls because there are spices in there! Cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, cloves, the whole gang. Even orange zest joins the party. As usual, you can take them or leave them, whatever your preference. I think it’s fun to eat these so-called cold-weather spices all year long, but if it’s not your thing, that’s cool, too. Just don’t wait until fall to make these- they taste great right now. (Just ask my kids.)

Spiced Nut Butter Balls

 

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adapted from The Gracious Pantry. http://www.thegraciouspantry.com/clean-eating-spiced-almond-butter-balls/

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Snack

Serves: 30

Ingredients

• 1¼ cups almond meal
• ¾ cup nut butter (I use ¼ cup almond butter, ¼ cup sunflower seed butter and ¼ cup tahini/sesame paste)
• ¼ cup chia seeds or sesame seeds (or a mix of both)
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• Zest of ½ large orange
• ½ cup dried cranberries (sweetened with fruit juice if you can find them that way)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ cup shredded coconut or almond meal (optional)
• sesame seeds or shredded coconut, for rolling

Instructions

1. Combine almond meal, nut butter, chia or sesame seeds, maple syrup, vanilla, orange zest, dried cranberries and spices in large bowl and mix well. If the mixture seems too wet, add the additional shredded coconut or almond meal until you have a firm dough to roll.
2. Form into balls. Roll them in sesame seeds if you like.
3. Place balls on a parchment lined cookie sheet and place in the freezer for at least 2 hours.
4. Store in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container.

#version#

It’s been a rainy morning here in GA today. Even the clouds know it’s a Monday.

Though it’s pretty sad-looking outside, the rain has not deterred us from having a lovely morning so far. I am still on my happy-husband-high from a weekend away (at Chateau Elan, ooh la la!) and I will ride it as long as it lasts!

Our answer to this dreary weather is muffins. Pumpkin streusel muffins.

I do my fair share of baking, but I am not the main muffin baker of my family- that title goes to my mom. Nana loves a good muffin, particularly if it’s stuffed with nuts/fruit until it’s bursting out of the wrapper. She loves to make a giant batch of her Morning Muffins when we come home to visit and she has a stainless steel bowl for mixing her batters that is bigger than.. well, it’s just huge.

She is probably going to text me as soon as she sees this and ask me to freeze a few for her next visit.

(Hi, Mom! We can make some more while you’re here.)

I went with pumpkin simply because we had some pumpkin puree leftover from pumpkin pancakes a few days ago. I added the streusel because I (have no self-control and) cannot resist that sweet crunch. If I’m going to make muffins, I’m gonna do it up.

The muffins are grain-free, gluten-free, refined-sugar free and paleo. The main ingredients are pumpkin, eggs, coconut flour, and butter/coconut oil. The recipe is pretty easy to pull together and they’d still be yummy without the streusel if you want to save some time.

I had a question on Facebook about alternative flours and I’d like to say a little bit about them in case these new ingredients are freaking you out. I debated for a long time about investing in these new ingredients because 1) they’re expensive in small quantities and 2) I was so used to wheat flour and didn’t want to adapt. I started by transitioning to a gluten-free flour mix first (King Arthur has one you can find easily) and then started experimenting with grain-free flours.

Coconut flour, almond flour and other grain-free/nut flours do not act the same as traditional wheat flour- they do not contain gluten, so they need binders like eggs or flax seed to make successful batters. Recipes using these flours are dense- they don’t rise up the way that wheat flour does, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t tasty. They also have the added benefit of fiber and other nutrients that wheat flour does not. If you are new to baking with these flours, I suggest following your first few recipes closely before you start experimenting with substitutions.

I buy my almond flour from Honeyville and my coconut flour from Tropical Traditions. Both companies have sales and bulk purchasing that you can take advantage of to save some money.

And P.S. That heart-shaped butter is just a coincidence, but consider it a happy Valentine’s-Day-related coincidence. Love you guys!

Pumpkin Streusel Muffins (Paleo, Gluten-Free, Grain-Free)

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

40 mins

Total time

55 mins

 

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Breakfast, Baked Goods

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• For the streusel:
• ¼ cup softened butter or coconut oil
• ¼ cup almond flour
• 2 tablespoons unrefined sugar of choice
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup nuts, chopped (I used half walnuts and half macadamia nuts. Pecans or almonds would be great, too. If you like chunkier streusel, you don’t have to pre-chop the nuts.)
• ½ cup unsweetened coconut chips or shredded coconut
• For the muffins:
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup melted coconut oil or butter
• 6 eggs
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ cup coconut flour

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a muffin tin or line it with 12 muffin liners.
2. To make the streusel topping, combine the butter/coconut oil, almond flour, unrefined sugar, sea salt, nuts and coconut in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the ingredients are loosely combined. Set aside.
3. To make the batter, whisk pumpkin, coconut oil/butter, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla. Add spices, baking soda and coconut flour and whisk until it thickens up.
4. Spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups. Top with the streusel. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 10-20 minutes. (To make sure the streusel doesn’t get too brown, you can top the muffins with some foil about half way through baking.)

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• I can throw just about any fall vegetable or fruit in the mix.
• It’s perfect finger food for babies!
• Adding allspice to the spice mix gives it that special, savory something.

Roasted and Spiced Autumn Vegetables

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Total time

1 hour

 

Feel free to substitute any fall produce or root vegetables here- fresh pumpkin, potatoes, parsnips, turnips, onions, etc. You can also switch up the spice mixture- adding ginger, cloves, etc; or substitute 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.

Author: Oven Love

Recipe type: Side Dish

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients

• 1 small butternut squash; peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 large sweet potato; peeled and chopped
• 2-3 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 large or 2 small apples; peeled, cored and chopped
• 1 large or 2 small pears; peeled, cored and chopped
• extra virgin olive oil, melted butter or melted coconut oil
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon allspice
• ⅛ teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
• salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine all the chopped vegetables and fruits in a large bowl and toss with a few tablespoons of olive oil, butter or coconut oil. Add the spices and toss. Spread the mixture on a parchment or silicone-mat-lined baking sheet in a single layer. Roast in the oven for 30-45 minutes tossing once or twice. Serve warm.

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