Looking for a healthy snack your kids will actually eat?
Try this one, invented by my daughter Gillian. They look good too, don’t they? Maybe even good enough to greet hungry guests if you’re having a Break-the-fast for Yom Kippur and someone wants a quick nibble before the real dinner.
Gillian invented these because she wants to send healthy snacks to school, but also send something her daughter Lila will like. She remembers the days when she was a kid and I was the one sending the lunch and snack. I also wanted to send something healthy, not a Snickers bar or M&Ms. But I also didn’t want to be the carrot-and-raisin Mom who never sent a chip and whose kids always traded those carrots-and-raisins for a sample of whatever the other children happen to bring that day (sometimes Snickers bar or M&Ms).
These snack balls are sweet, but there’s only one tablespoon of honey in 4 dozen balls. The rest is all natural fruit sweetener from the figs, prunes and dates.
Grownups like these too. Take my word for that.
Gillian’s Snack Balls
8-10 large dried figs, coarsely chopped
1 cup pitted prunes, halved
3/4 cup dried cranberries
6 large Medjool dates, coarsely chopped
1 cup quick cooking oats
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1-1/2 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh orange peel
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
Place the figs, prunes, cranberries, dates, oats, applesauce, orange peel and honey in a food processor and process for about one minute or until the ingredients are well combined and form a soft pasty ball. Use a spoon to take enough paste to form one-inch balls. Roll the balls in coconut. Makes about 4 dozen