The Return of Bananas and Something New - Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Power Balls

Something new = Pretzels!! Here's the recipe:

Laura's Peanut Butter Banana Pretzel Power Balls

Mix Dry Ingredients:

48 Sour Dough Pretzel Nuggets, chopped

4 c. Oats, chopped

3 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

0.5 c. Flaxseed Meal

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

2 tsp. Cinnamon

Mix Wet Ingredients:

2 Bananas, Mashed

0.5 c. Peanut Butter

2 Egg Whites

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

0.5 c. Syrup

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 77 balls.

Nutrition Facts Per Ball: (Serving Size 3 Balls)

52.19 Calories

13.47 Calories from Fat

2.40g Protein

1.54g Total Fat

0.27g Saturated Fat

7.72g Carbs

2.53mg Cholesterol

100 Balls! Cinnamon Chocolate Pear Power Balls

That's right! This recipe made 100 Power Balls! Check it out:

Laura's Cinnamon Chocolate Pear Power Balls

Mix Together: 

4 c. Oats, chopped

3 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

0.5 c. Flaxseed Meal

1 c. Wheat Bran

6 tbsp Cocoa Powder

1 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

0.5 c. Nutty Nuggets Wheat and Barley Cereal

1 tbsp Cinnamon

Chop 15.25 oz. Lite Pears Sliced in Pear Juice until Looks like Applesauce

Before:

After:

Mix Together Wet Ingredients:

Pear Mush

2 Egg Whites

1 c. Bulgar Wheat soaked in 1.5 c. Water for 1 hour

0.5 c. Syrup

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 100 balls.

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (4 Balls Per Serving)

36.09 Calories

5.17 Calories from Fat

1.94g Protein

0.59g Total Fat

0.09g Saturated Fat

6.17g Carbs

2.10mg Cholesterol

Do You Like Pina Colada... Power Balls?

These seem to have turned out much better than the previous Power Balls. I finally went grocery shopping tonight so having more ingredients might have helped with that and maybe the bit of rum extract I used too - I mean, how could I call them Pina Colada Power Balls without really mimicking the essence of Pina Coladas? (Don't worry - there isn't a significant amount of alcohol in the rum extract that would cause any loopiness and probably it won't even be able to taste the flavor of it anyway, but it was still fun to include).

Here's the recipe:

Laura's Pina Colada Power Balls

Mix Together Dry Ingredients:

4 c. Oats, chopped

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

0.5 c. Flaxseed Meal

1 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

Combine Wet Ingredients:

2 Egg Whites

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

0.5 tsp Rum Extract

20 oz. Crushed Pineapple in Pineapple Juice

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

1 c. Sweetened Coconut

Combing Dry and Wet Ingredients.

Drop into rounded balls on greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes.

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (3-4 Balls Per Serving)

43.22 Calories

9.46 Calories from Fat

2.16g Protein

1.03g Total Fat

0.37g Saturated Fat

6.49g Carbs

2.66mg Cholesterol

Delays - Peanut Butter Chocolate Power Balls

With medical school applications taking over the majority of my free time and sucking up my creative writing motivation, I'll apologize in advance for the possible delays and shorter posts on my Power Ball creations. But don't worry, they're still in production!! This recipe was way too dry - perhaps because I hadn't been to the grocery store in a few days and didn't have any eggs for egg whites nor Greek yogurt - so next time I'll have to modify that. The flavor definitely came through though, so that was one saving quality to the otherwise more sawdust-like consistency. This recipe also lacked in some other qualities too, so overall I'd say it wasn't my greatest concoction. 

Here's the recipe, but if you make it, I'd add 2 egg whites and some honey Greek yogurt to the dry ingredients to moisten things up some and boost the nutritional facts.

Laura's Peanut Butter Chocolate Power Balls

Mix Together Dry Ingredients:

1 c. Rice Bitz (chopped)

3 c. Oats (chopped)

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

0.5 c. Cocoa Powder

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

Mix Together Wet Ingredients:

0.5 c. Peanut Butter

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

6 tbsp Applesauce

*Note should add 2 egg whites and 6oz honey Greek yogurt here.

Mix Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Drop by rounded balls onto greased cookie sheets. 

Bake at 325F for 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 70 balls.

Nutrition Facts Per Ball: (Serving Size 3-4 Balls)

40.32 Calories

13.36 Calories from Fat

2.19g Protein

1.51g Total Fat

0.27g Saturated Fat

5.18g Carbs

2.79mg Cholesterol

Crushed Graham Crackers + Lime = Key Lime Pie Power Balls!

Despite chillier temperatures, I was still inspired to make these more summer-themed Power Balls after discovering graham cracker crumbs as a possible addition to the dry ingredients. And what goes better with graham cracker crumbs than key lime pie?! So here's my rendition:

Laura's Key Lime Pie Power Balls

Combine:

1 c. Bulgar Wheat

1 c. Water

Let soak for at least 20 minutes.

Mix Dry Ingredients:

3 c. Oats (chopped)

2 c. Graham Cracker Crumbs

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

0.75 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

Mix Wet Ingredients:

6 oz Honey Flavored Greek Yogurt

0.25 c. Grapefruit Juice

0.25 c. Lemon Juice

Juice from 2 Limes

0.75 c. Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

0.5 tsp Lemon Extract

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Shape into rounded balls on greased cookie sheets. 

This batter turned out well for shaping/manipulating the Power Balls into actual ball shapes. See?!

Bake at 325F for around 8-10 minutes.

Makes approximately 75 balls. 

Nutritional Facts Per Ball:

41.67 Calories

5.27 Calories from Fat

2.40g Protein

0.56g Total Fat

0.05g Saturated Fat

7.05g Carbs

2.80mg Cholesterol

Something Like Chocolate Covered Cherries

While not the real thing, this was the best Power Ball approximation I could manage. Since my previous Peachy Power Balls were a little too mushy, I definitely tried to get rid of that in these PBs. I think what really helped was an exciting new find of Bulgar Wheat in the grocery store. What's Bulgar Wheat you ask? Well, I'm not entirely sure, but it's got a super high amount of Carbs (30g) packed into only 0.25 cups!

Another interesting thing about Bulgar Wheat is that it really helps to soak it in water before cooking with it or else it will absorb all the other liquid in your batch and dry the PBs out too much.

Anyway, I digress. As previously mentioned, my Peachy PBs were a little disappointing, so I tried to make these extra good. With ingredients like sugar-free cherry pie filling, cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips and so far looking like they're going to hold together pretty well, hopefully these will be more of a crowd pleaser.

Here's the recipe:

Laura's Chocolate Covered Cherry Power Balls

In a small bowl combine:

0.75 c. Bulgar Wheat

0.75 c. Water

Initially Will Look Like This:

But After 15-20 minutes Should Look More Like This:

Mix Dry Ingredients Together:

1 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

3 scoops Chocolate Protein Powder

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

6 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

3 c. Oats (chop)

Mix Wet Ingredients Together:

1.25 c. Sugar Free Cherry Pie Filling

0.5 c. Lite Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

2 Egg Whites

Add Bulgar Wheat-Water to Wet Ingredients.

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Add 0.5 c. Mini Chocolate Chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoon onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325F for around 8-10 minutes, or until brown.

Makes approximately 80 Power Balls.

Nutritional Facts Per Ball:

44.94 Calories

8.28 Calories from Fat

2.37g Protein

0.90g Fat

0.30g Saturated Fat

7.29g Carbs

2.69mg Cholesterol

Just Peachy...

...Until things start falling apart. I definitely had high hopes at the beginning of this batch, especially after chopping and peeling peaches for half an hour. And maybe I was a little dramatic in implying that these Power Balls are entirely inept at any sort of Power Ball resemblance. And maybe they still look and taste fine. But it was like the peaches had lost a not very peachy war on the cookie trays - fallen peach soldiers everywhere! Come on guys! I didn't chop you all up just for you to lie around until I eat you!

In retrospect, I suppose I should have perhaps considered the possibility that 5 peaches might be a little excessive for 1 batch of Power Balls, but at the farmer's market the peaches just looked so good and the vendor was only selling them in groups of 5, and it's not like I'm going to go eat a peach on my own - too sticky - so why not just use them all at once?

As it turns out, aside from the slight overuse of peaches, this batch was definitely a step in the right direction for producing the quantity and nutritional content I've been aiming for. At around 170 calories per serving with 30g of carbs and 9.67g protein, I'd say this is an overall win, but only based on statistics.

Here's the recipe:

Laura's Peachy Power Balls

Peel and chop 4 (not 5) peaches.

Before

After

In a Saucepan Combine:

Peel & Chopped Peaches

0.25 c. Syrup

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 tsp Rum Extract

1 tsp Cinnamon

Cook for around 5-8 minutes on low-medium heat, or until slightly syrupy.

Mix Dry Ingredients:

4 c. Rice Chex Cereal (chop)

2 c. Low Fat Granola (chop)

1 c. Dry Nonfat Milk

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

Add 2 Egg Whites to Peaches in Saucepan.

Combine Peaches and Dry Ingredients.

Drop into rounded balls onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325°F for around 10 minutes.

So many peaches.

Makes approximately 80 balls. 

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (Recommended Serving of 3-4 Balls)*

42.22 Calories

4.34 Calories from Fat

2.42g Protein

0.43g Total Fat

0.06g Saturated Fat

7.50g Carbs

3.31mg Cholesterol

*Note: Might be slightly different since this is the nutritional facts for when 5 peaches were used.

Fall's Getting Closer! - Caramel Cinnamon Apple Balls

With the temperatures at night along with the leaves starting to drop and with grocery stores starting to fill up with all sorts of varieties of apples, I decided to make a more fall-ish type of Power Ball - Caramel Cinnamon Apple Power Balls!

Although this batch didn't generate as many PBs as the Strawberry Banana Smoothie batch, they had slightly better nutritional value, so I think a serving of 3 PBs will be good, although I'm still not quite satisfied with the caloric and carb content. Fortunately, fall's not here yet, so I've got some time to work on it.

Here's the recipe:

Laura's Caramel Cinnamon Apple Power Balls

Dice 2 Apples, Doesn't have to be super fine, but small enough to not engulf a whole ball

In a saucepan on medium-low heat combine:

0.25 c Syrup

Diced Apples

2 tbsp Water

2 tbsp Sugar

2 tsp Cinnamon

0.5 tsp Apple Pie Spice

1 tsp Vanilla

Cook for around 5 minutes, or until the apples are a little soft.

Mix Dry Ingredients:

2.5 c Oats (chop)

1 c. 'Nutty Nuggets' Wheat & Barley Cereal

1 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

0.5 c. Brown Rice Flour

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

0.25 c. Wheat Bran

0.5 tsp. Apple Pie Spice

Mix Wet Ingredients:

2 Egg Whites

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

1 c. Applesauce

Add Cooked Apple Mixture to Wet Ingredients.

Combine Wet and Dry Mixtures.

Add 2 tbsp. Caramel Bits.

Drop into rounded balls on greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325°F for around 8-10 minutes, or until brown.

Makes approximately 65 balls.

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (Recommended Serving of 3-4 Balls)

45.98 Calories

5.40 Calories from Fat

2.49g Protein

0.63g Total Fat

0.13g Saturated Fat

8.01g Carbs

3.31mg Cholesterol

Balancing Act - Strawberry Banana Smoothie Balls

The last time I made Power Balls, I didn't quite make enough. Fortunately, I had some leftover Blueberry Yogurt Power Balls that I was able to add in addition to the Lemon Poppy Seed Power Balls to give out, but today I was determined to produce a higher quantity of PBs. Although I succeeded in this, I failed to consider ball quality and so although I now have 80 delicious smelling Strawberry Banana Smoothie Power Balls to give out on Saturday, I also had to raise the number each person gets due to the lower nutritional value of each ball.

This is turning out to be quite the balancing act of quantity and quality with the ideal PB batch producing enough balls for my customers while also providing them with adequate nutrition without having to eat an excessive amount of PBs. This batch seemed to have pretty decent protein content, but a too low calorie and carb amount, so my next goal will be to find a way to increase these values - perhaps peanut butter? Or a more dense form of carbohydrate? Although, I still would want them to be tasty - I'll have to think about this.

In the meantime, here's the recipe from today. The mixed wet ingredients looked and smelled like a strawberry banana smoothie, hence the name.

Laura's Strawberry Banana Smoothie Power Balls

Mix Dry Ingredients:

4 c. Unchopped Oats, chop

3 c. Unchopped Rice Bitz Cereal, chop

0.5 c. Dry Nonfat Milk

4.5 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

6 tbsp Flaxseed Meal

0.5 c. Wheat Bran

Chop 1 Pint of Fresh Strawberries

Before:

After:

Mix Wet Ingredients:

2 6oz containers Strawberry Flavored Greek Yogurt

1 pint Chopped Strawberries

2 Mashed Bananas

2 Egg Whites

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

0.5 c. Syrup

0.25 c. Orange Juice

See the Strawberry Banana Smoothie Resemblance?

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients.

Round into balls on greased cookie sheet.

Bake at 325°F for around 8-10 minutes, or until done.

Makes approximately 80 balls. 

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (Recommended Serving of 3-4 Balls)

42.26 Calories

5.67 Calories from Fat

2.73g Protein

0.65g Total Fat

0.13g Saturated Fat

6.68g Carbs

4.06mg Cholesterol

New Discoveries & Deliciousness - Lemon Poppy Seed Balls

As promised, my newest creation of Power Balls was in fact Lemon Poppy Seed Power Balls! For those of you who like lemon poppy seed edibles, I think you're going to really like these. I tried another new base consisting of mainly oats and rice cereal then combined that with a mixture of predominantly of grapefruit and lemon juice and think this might be a winning combination.

Being the fourth round of Power Balls to make, I think I'm finally getting the hang of this making up recipes as opposed to following them and set a new record today of having everything finished in just under an hour. Unfortunately, I'm not yet getting the hang of producing the correct number of Power Balls and find myself now, like an undergrad in chem lab, again wishing my percent yield was higher.

So right now I've got 44 Power Balls with an average, perhaps slightly calorically low, nutritional value of 128.6 calories and 6.91g of protein per serving. Which of course could easily be fixed by simply increasing the number of Power Balls per serving from 2 to 3, but then would result in me having to make another half recipe. And with everything nicely put away and my dishwasher running, that's not necessarily my ideal choice right now. Maybe I'll reassess tomorrow.

Here's the recipe:

Laura's Lemon Poppy Seed Power Balls

Mix Dry Ingredients:

4 c. Unchopped Rice Cereal (chop in a mixer)

1 c. Unchopped Oats (chop in mixer)

0.25 c. Brown Rice Flour

0.25 c. Flaxseed Meal

0.25 c. Wheat Bran

2.5 tbsp Poppy Seeds

0.5 c. Nonfat Dry Milk

3 scoops Vanilla Protein Powder

Mix Wet Ingredients:

0.5 c. Grapefruit Juice

0.25 c. Lemon Juice

0.75 c. Syrup

2 Egg Whites

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

0.5 tsp Lemon Extract

Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients:

Drop by rounded spoonful onto greased cookie sheets.

Bake at 325°F for around 10 minutes, or until brown on bottom.

Makes approximately 44 Power Balls.

Nutritional Facts Per Ball: (Recommended 2-3 Per Serving)

64.30 Calories

9.59 Calories from Fat

3.45g Protein

1.14g Total Fat

0.17g Saturated Fat

10.68g Carbs

4.66mg Cholesterol