About the Recipe
I took these with me when I went hiking with my family over labor day weekend. We hiked my last mountain: St. Regis Mountain in the Adirondack Park in the Saranac Lake area for me to become a 6er, which means I hiked all 6 of the Saranac mountains!
My Dad has had health issues and eats healthier than he ever used to because of Mom and me. But he also struggles with eating enough food because he has trouble swallowing and early satiety. And he loved my oat balls!!
“Really? Oh, they are so easy to make!” And Mom even asked me for the recipe, so she could make them for him :)
These bites are a great snack, pre or post-workout or run snack, or perfect snack when hiking.
Ingredients
· 1 cup oats (how much depends on if you use quick oats or old fashioned oats)
· ½ cup natural peanut butter
· ½ cup honey, agave, syrup, or molasses
· 1 cup trail mix or choice of nuts, dried fruit, etc.
· Optional: ½ scoop of protein powder of your choice
Preparation
Step 1: Prep
First, take out all your ingredients.
Step 2: Heat
Over low heat in a small pot or in a small crockpot, add peanut butter and syrup or agave or molasses. Stir until heated about 2 minutes.
*I usually use agave or syrup. But since I was out of both of those, I decided to try to use molasses. It works, but it is a strong taste and not as sweet as agave or syrup. I tried to add cocoa, but that didn’t help much.
But if you are okay with the taste, molasses is nutrient dense. It contains no fat, zero added sugars, and is a good source of calcium and potassium!
Step 3: Add oats and/or trail mix/nuts
Next, add in oats. Then add plant-based protein powder, if you choose to. And fold in trail mix or nuts of your choice.
Step 4
Next, roll mixture into balls and place on a cookie sheet. Put in the refrigerator for a couple of hours or overnight to form.
Enjoy!
