No-Bake Peanut Butter Bites

Lately I have been hearing about all kinds of little balls of food, some people call them energy balls, protein balls, whatever you want to call them these babies are awesome! Last week we were at our farm and my cousin Rusty and his wife Ali, had brought some "balls" up to share. They were great, we all snacked on them. Then we chatted about making them, because I knew these would be a perfect recipe to share with my readers. The bottom line is that there are no real rules when it comes to these little bites of yumminess...the main important components are ingredients 1-7, after that add or omit what you want. These are just an idea. You could use walnuts, pecans, raisins, any kind of seeds, substitute almond or sunflower butter, really the possibilities are endless with these little loves. They are a yummy, raw food recipe and healthy nonetheless! Enjoy...

Ingredients:
1 cup oats
2/3 cup coconut
1/2 cup Peanut butter (I used natural crunchy)
1/2 cup ground flax
1/3 cup honey
1/2 t salt
1/2 t vanilla
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used Ghiradelli dark chips)
1/4 dried cherries
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients, mix together well. Place bowl in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Spray hands with baking spray so the mixture won't stick to your hands. Roll together, actually it's more of a pressing into the shape of a ball. Store in an airtight container in the fridge. Makes about 30 balls.

Gather your ingredients, might be the most time consuming part of this one...

Add them to a mixing bowl...

Stir to combine, then refrigerate.

After the mixture is chilled shape into small balls.

A little hand wanted one while I was taking pictures, my kids like them. Although the competition for sweets is tough right now being the day after Halloween!

Store in an airtight container in the fridge.

Weight Watcher Friends: These have 2 points per ball. Add or omit whatever fits your tastes but these are a very satisfying treat that is packed full of wholesome goodness!

Coconut-Almond Macaroons

A dessert post, shocking, I know! I am not a huge macaroon person, my Grammy loved them, she died a month ago at the age of 90. I have been thinking of her a lot lately and she would have loved for me to bring these to her. I was flipping through the new Rachel Ray magazine and came across this and felt compelled to make them. It didn't hurt that they had such few ingredients and the recipe seemed like a cinch. Plus anytime I can find a gluten free recipe that is a dessert I am all in :) These were so easy it was ridiculous and my kids loved them!

My grandparents June and Burt Rose, I miss them so much!

Ingredients:
3 Egg Whites
1/4 t salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups Sweetened Coconut(recipe calls for shredded, I used shaved)
1 cup sliced almonds

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together egg whites and salt. Gradually add sugar continuing to whisk until thick and fluffy, about 2 minutes. I used my standing mixer for this with the paddle attachment on high and it worked great! Next fold in coconut and almonds. Drop rounded tablespoons onto a greased baking sheet and bake for 16-20 minutes. They burn fast so watch carefully after 16 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 1 minute before moving to a cooling rack.

My sweet boy was helping me in the kitchen today and he let me take his picture, big deal for me!

Adding the sugar here, not sure why but I just loved this picture, but I do.

After beating the egg whites, salt and sugar it should look like this.

After being folded together.

Little mounds of sweetness, now quick get them in the oven, but don't forget them!!!

They were great on day one and two but by day three they got chewy so eat them up!

Weight Watcher Friends: This recipe makes 20-22 macaroons they are 2 points a piece. I wish you luck eating just one :)

Source: Rachel Ray Magazine

Chocolate Cherry Bites

Whenever I have to pack a snack for myself I love to pack raw almonds, dried cherries or cranberries and throw in a few Ghirardelli milk chocolate chips. My husband likes to make fun of me but I always make bites where I take an almond then stack a chocolate chip and then top with a cherry...those three things together make me smile! I have had so many people say how much they loved the Crispy Peanut Butter Cups that I posted in December and I have been trying to come up with something similar, easy and bite-sized, so I used my three favorite ingredients. I thought these would be great and they were. And the best part...they might be the easiest thing I have ever made!

Ingredients:
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (divided in half)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray. Mix almonds, cherries and half of the chocolate chips in a bowl. Take 4-5 chocolate chips and place them in the bottom of each muffin cup. I used Ghirardelli and they are a little bit larger than most brands so 4 in the bottom was perfect for me.  If you have any left mix them into the almond, cherry mixture, gently stir then fill your muffin cups with the mixture. Place in the oven for 5-7 minutes. Remove from the oven and using the back of a spoon give each muffin cup a little smoosh down so when the chocolate hardens it will hold them together. Then place in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes (if you need to eat them sooner) or in the fridge for about an hour if you can be patient. Once they are cooled use a butter knife to gently pry them from the muffin cups. Store them in the fridge.
 

The mix..

The arrangement



This is a picture of them 'post-smoosh'.

They aren't perfect, some of them are a little bit crumbly...

But they sure are good!!!

Weight Watcher Friends: These have 2 points each. When I did the calculations for points I divided by 12 and by 15 since there was enough ingredients to make about 3 more. Either way they had 2 points each. Enjoy!

Cranberry Jello

This recipe is a holiday favorite in my family. My aunt makes it at Thanksgiving every year and it is my favorite thing at the Thanksgiving table! It is full of fresh, delicious ingredients that I love! I made it again this week and CAN"T STOP eating it!!! I tried to skinny it up just a bit, by reducing the amount of sugar and nuts by a small amount to reduce the number of calories/points per serving but it is full of super healthy fruits so I didn't want to mess with it too much~

Crispy Peanut Butter Cups

I know this is shocking to most people who follow me, I NEVER post desserts, it's not that I don't eat sweets, I do, I promise but I try really hard not to make them for two reasons. First, I have no self control with sweets, if they are in my house, I eat them. I only buy sweets for my kids and husbands that I don't care about. And second, I don't like to cut corners/calories on sweets, I feel like it's really easy to make lower fat/calorie swaps in cooking but baking is more of a science and I don't want to mess it up!
I saw these on Pinterest and they looked so amazing I had to try them, at 9pm, I had to try them and OMG they are like a homemade Reese's Cup which is my favorite candy!
These are so easy to make it only takes about 10-12 minutes. This recipe can be doubled or tripled if you have a larger muffin tin, my mini muffin tin only makes 12 so I just made a few.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
2 T unsalted butter, room temp
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup powder sugar
1 t vanilla
3/4 cup Rice Krispies

Directions:
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a mini muffin tin with non-stick spray. Sprinkle about 12-15 chocolate chips in each muffin cup and place in the oven for 3-5 minutes, careful not to burn them. Once they come out set aside.

In your mixer, cream the butter and peanut butter until smooth, about 2 minutes. Then add the powder sugar and the vanilla, mix until combined. Finally add the Rice Krispies and stir to combine.

Add about 1 T of the peanut butter mixture to the tops of the melted chocolate chips. Spray the back of a spoon with non-stick spray and press the peanut butter mixture down on top. Place in the fridge for about an hour. Store covered and in the fridge.

Weight Watcher Friends: These have 2.5 points each. They are small but really rich, enjoy!

Source: http://iowagirleats.com/