When In Doubt, Just Add Sprinkles

Chocolate Almond Butter Balls with nonpareils

My eldest is my picky eater. There is nary a food in the world she will eat unless it resembles a sweetie of some kind. This is genetic, I am certain of it. A chip off the ol' block, really.  She rarely gets sugary things, except those with naturally occurring sugars like fruit. So when we do make treats (a.k.a incentives to eat the veg on her plate) I try to make them healthy-ish but still appear to be sweet-ish. Hence the chocolate almond butter ball rolled in sprinkles.

This recipe first appeared in my uber healthy mother-in-law's arsenal. I'm trying to find the original source, so if you recognize it, do let me know! They are packed with good things like sunflower seeds, nuts and flax but there is enough cocoa and almond butter to hide the good-for-you bits...so my daughter does not know, or readily acknowledge, that they are not sweeties. My mother-in-law rolls them in coconut flakes at the end, but this did not go over well with my kiddos. Colourful nonpareils, however...now that's a party on a plate. Yes it adds to the sweet factor, but by so little - and it is the kicker that eliminates 10 rounds of will she/won't she eat her carrots.

Here is the recipe I adapted from my mother-in-law's version.  Easy peasy:

1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use raw cocoa powder but any will do)
1/2 almond butter (or any nut butter)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup quinoa flakes (or rolled oats if you're not sensitive to them)
1/2 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup ground flax (or wheat germ)
1/2 cup flax seeds
1/2 cup toasted almonds (or hazelnuts or any nut)
nonpareils (optional)

Mix everything together. Spoon into hand and roll into balls. Roll each ball in a dish of nonpareils or sprinkles. Voila. Enjoy!

 

Chocolate almond butter balls covered in sprinkles...I ran out of nonpareils.