Well hello and Happy Wednesday to you, friends! As you know, I’m participating in the New Year New Rules program which means my eats have been super clean (even more so than usual) as of late. Today I’ve got a healthy breakfast, lunch, and dinner to share, as well as a very tasty snack (no-bake & will give you energy)! All of this is courtesy of Jenn at Peas and Crayons where What I Ate Wednesday is officially hosted.
Breakfast: Despite the frigid temperatures here in St. Louis, I’ve been on a smoothie kick. Most recently: Coconut Peach Smoothie.
Mmm so good! Totally worth the after chill of it all. In the blender: ice, 1 cup frozen peaches, 1 banana, 1 cup coconut milk, 1 cup water, 1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds (optional), 2 tablespoons unsweetened, shredded coconut, a few drops of honey for added sweetness. The banana is a MUST, my friends. If you’re not a banana lover, no sweat; you can barely taste it, but the creaminess that the banana adds is awesome.
Lunch: Yesterday, my co-worker (friend) kindly and unnecessarily bought my lunch. We rarely order out, so when we do itz quite a treat! She chose Dave & Tony’s, one of my favorite spots to order from since you can create your own burger, sandwich, or salad. I ordered a salad with grilled chicken, black beans, roasted peppers, cucumbers, and banana peppers.
#PROOF that eating out can be healthy and taste good! Honestly, I didn’t even use dressing because the vegetables had so much flavor on their own.
Dinner: Leftovers from the weekend. I had a ton of the turkey, bean, veggie mix, so I used that and coupled it with kale that I roasted in the oven. I washed the kale, ripped it up, sprayed it with EVOO, and sprinkled nutritional yeast on top. Popped it in the oven at 425 for about 8 minutes (careful not to burn!), and wah-lah! Dinner is served.
We love leftovers over here as we’ve eaten a similar version of this for the past couple nights in addition to the original night I made it. Batch cooking at itz finest! I do have some soup in the crockpot today, so we’re changin’ it up tonight.
Now for the recipe you’ve all been waiting for…
Some background: since I am participating in NYNR many pre-made bars are off-limits as they are loaded with preservatives, artificial flavors, and added sugar. I’ve been snacking on apples, almonds, and raisins (per usual), but I wanted something a little more. So I dug through my pantry, threw a bunch of ingredients in the food processor, and out came these wonderful balls.
Almond Seed Cranberry Balls
~makes approximately 20 balls
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups almonds
- 1 1/2 cups oats (divided 1/2 cup and 1 cup)
- 1 cup unsweetened, vanilla almond milk
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- dash of cinnamon
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 2 tablespoons honey
Directions:
- Combine almonds, milk, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, ground flaxseed, dash of cinnamon, and 1/2 cup oats in food processor. Grind until a creamy consistency is reached, scraping the sides as necessary.
- Transfer mixture to bowl and add 1 cup oats, cranberries, and honey. Stir. (Mixture should be very thick and tough to stir.)
- Form into balls. Place in freezer for two hours. Transfer to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator.
These balls are great for on-the-go snacks! They contain protein, healthy fat, and complex carbs, so they’ll give you energy and keep you full. Win-win.
Best meal or snack you’ve eaten recently?
These look great! How do you think it’d work to put in a pan and cut into cubes? I’m so lazy when it comes to rolling…
I think it would work just fine! Leave it in the freezer for a bit longer so they stick together!
a million times yum!!! I think maybe I will pick up this book after my half marathon in a few weeks and see what I think. I knew i need a consistent lifting routine
you know i am a big fan of these! yum yum! perfect combo
I am hungry after looking at all these great eats! Thanks for the recipe!
OOOH these look awesome.
how long will the keep in fridge?
not sure as i just made them for the first time the other day! itz been two days and mine are still good though not many are left!!
Love all the healthy meals! Everything looks great. Those almond seed balls sound amazing though. Great recipe!
I wish I had frozen peaches! Love seed/nut balls…your’s sound fabulous!! Happy WIAW!
go get some!!
I love snack balls like those! We must be on the same brain waves because I actually made some balls recently too.
YES! Your gingerbread date balls sound SO good – can’t wait for the recipe!!
I’m really impressed you made these, sweetie!!!
I’ve never made a recipe like that before!
For a snack, I just tried my very first Quest bar this week!
I’ve heard such great things about Quest – haven’t tried one yet though!
These look great, and simple. Definitely pinning. Thank you for sharing!!
Linz, every one of your dishes just look delicious!! Please fly to Kuwait & cook for mee??!!!
Sure! Pay for my plane ticket? haha
I haven’t made kale chips in forever! I need to hop back on that wagon.
Those almond balls look amazing. Do you think I could get away with cutting out the honey, or is it needed for binding?
This was my first time in way too long making kale chips – now I remember why I used to make them all.the.time! I think you can get away from honey – if you grind the almonds and seeds enough in combination with the milk you should be good!
Yummmmmmers!
I am loving my Green Monsters lately – can’t convince my husband to even TRY it because of the color but so good! I recently got a smoothie blender with travel mugs, and its great to just throw everything in and drink it on the way to work.
Ok so this is how I tricked my husband into drinking a green smoothie: I used chocolate protein powder so it covered up the green color – use spinach since you really can’t taste that green at all and make sure you add a banana! He won’t have any idea spinach is there!
You have such awesome -looking eats! These balls look AWESOME.
I too love batch cooking–so smart.
You make kale look so good, I can never cook it right
Ever since you teased us with the “ball” picture on Twitter, I have been excited to see the recipe! Looks delish – as do all your WIAW eats
Oh I’ve been on a HUGE smoothie kick lately too AND I live in Minneapolis, probably a little bit colder than STL
Your Almond Seed Cranberry Balls look delish. One of my favorite snacks as of late has been pears. Weird? I use to never like them but I’ve been all about it lately!
Hahah I can’t imagine dealing with even colder temps and loads of snow – AH! Pears DO sound good right now!
These look amazing! I love simple, no bake recipes like this! Have a great day girly!
Totally making those balls tonight. Ugh, I need to get the motivation you have for clean eating back!
batch cook!! it makes life so much easier when healthy options are at your fingertips!
Awesome little snacks! I love almonds. Not a huge fan of cranberries but I haven’t had it nearly enough to form a real opinion, maybe I’d like it here. Who knows
Try raisins? Or dates or figs would be good too!!
I often crave smoothies or ice cream even when it’s chilly out! You’re right, they’re worth the chill.
The best snack I’ve had in a while was sunbutter and chocolate chips on top of a rice cake. It tasted like a cookie!
Mmmm! I love sunbutter and the rice cake and chocolate chips combo sounds awesome!!
Go-to snacks are great. I’ve seen some amazing ideas here and on Fitnessista (with her Amazeballs). Yours look like they could have been taken straight from a batch of oatmeal cookie dough. I bet they taste just as good too
Favorite snack would have to be carrots. Quick, and good either raw or cooked. Cooked is my favorite right now though, drizzled with coconut oil.
Her amazeballs always do look so good!!
Yum, I love protein bites like those! I’m missing them lately since I’m doing the Paleo challenge and can’t have oats. I’ve been thinking of a way I can create some without oats and not be too nutty… I might have an idea but we’ll see how it turns out
Share the recipe once you figure it out!
Could you just sub almond meal perhaps?
Mmm that salad you had for lunch looks delicious!! I can’t wait to try out those Almond Seed Cranberry Balls either – I am loving all of the ingredients! Snack I’ve been loving lately would be vanilla Chobani with kiwi sliced in it. Yum!
Can’t ever go wrong with Chobani!!
I am so excited to roast kale right now, you have no idea!! I love a new way to make greens!! Delicious WIAW post!! Thanks for the ideas!
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i love me some balls! i mean bites.. hehe