Orange Almond Biscotti Balls

This is one yummy variation of our favorite snack, which we call "Laraballs"; a mix of nuts, unsweetened dried fruits, and spices. This flavor is called ORANGE ALMOND BISCOTTI BALLS - super yummy and refreshing!

fruit + nuts = 2 check mark snack from Dr Greger's Daily Dozen

I originally starting making "Laraballs" when I tried to create Larabars at home. My recipe AND the product are both fabulous convenience items with only a handful of ingredients which are whole foods (again nuts, fruit, and spices), and no added sugar, oil, or dairy! Note: my balls also have no salt, while Larabars do :(

The Larabar website has coupons, and now the company even makes: Larabar Bites (a product just like my balls!)! On to the recipe!

Start with a little freshness!  Slice off the very thinnest layer of the orange peel.  Use about half to all of the orange peel.  This will make up your orange zest, but you can just toss the peels in with everything else in the food chopper / processor.

Orange Almond Biscotti Balls

1 orange peel (as shown above)

1/2 c almonds

3/4 c dates

Combine all ingredients until everything sort of sticks together.

Trash can trick: fold edges of a resealable sandwich bag over a mug.

Scoop everything into bag. Almost done!

Have fun shaping the dough however you like!  KIDS like this part best! The dough works pretty well with cookie cutters, balls are great, and you can make bars by pushing the mixture into a pan, chilling, and cutting.

Keep mixture refrigerated or at room temperature, or keep it in your car.

You can make them into balls from outside the bag - so you don't get "food hands".

I can't make balls fast enough, as soon as I make one, my kids want it, until half the bag is gone. If only they new how healthy they are! Actually, they do know, and still they love them!

Here are MANY MORE LARABAR FLAVORS to enjoy!

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Add a comment, to bring more life to the blog! WHAT DO YOU THINK? Do you have a favorite childhood memory? I'll always remember the Christmas Santa made us a house that looked like our actual house, with an address, front door, windows, drapes, and all...it's still at my mom's house today! My kids play with it down in her basement :)

Calling All GIRL SCOUT THIN MINT Fans!

You can feel good giving your kids, these gooey, minty, chocolatey treats before noon! In fact, you’ll be giving them lots of great fiber, B-vitamins, and several key minerals! Free of sugar, butter, shortening, vegetable oil, or any of the many chemicals found in packaged treats!

Skinny-Mints (Girl Scout Thin Mint Laraballs)

In a food processor, combine ½ c pistachios, ¾ c pitted dates, 1/8 c unsweetened cocoa, 1-2 tsp peppermint extract, and 1 tsp vanilla. Blend until mixture begins to clump, simply shape into balls and enjoy this delight! Yum!

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Read on for more information about these yummy treats! They are similar in texture and consistency, and perhaps even more moist than Larabars. Larabars have a super-SHORT ingredient list and can always be available on the go! There are nearly 20 amazing favors. They are however (only shortcoming) expensive.

Really, for what you get, such nutrient-dense (tons of vitamins, minerals, and fiber, and some "good" fat) product, the price isn't too bad, but looking at an individual bar, it's around a dollar when you "subscribe and save" on amazon.com, around $1.29 at Trader Joe's (cheapest at a store you can walk into), and more than that at any other store that I have seen.

It's fun to use the www.larabar.com website to make your own! Click on any of the flavors to see all ingredients. They list ingredients with pictures, as in cashew cookie: a picture of a cashew and a date. If you have a variety of nuts, plenty of dates, cocoa, some spices, and some different types of dried fruit, you can quickly make a batch of any flavor you choose!

For a consistency that will clump together nicely, you want around 1/2 c nuts (one type or a combination) and 1/2 c or so of dried fruit (such as dates). All ingredients can be blended at once. I small food chopper (like for baby food or chopping onions) works well. I have a Cuisinart 4-cup chopper/grinder that works perfectly! It is also easy to clean -- added bonus! It's small, so I can keep it on my counter, thus using it more than if I had to pull it out every time I wanted to use it!

Blend, blend, blend! As I said above, when you blend it long enough, it will begin to clump together. Now you can put the whole mixture into a sandwich bag, and have fun shaping! Your hands will stay clean (I don't like "food hands")! You can make balls out of the mixture -- it's like playing with play-dough! Then keep them in that bag -- the oils that remain will keep your treats moist -- though they might not have much time to dry out (too yummy!)!

WHAT DO YOU THINK? TELL ME IN A COMMENT BELOW: What flavor does your tummy's imagination want? Maybe I can come up with something you'll enjoy! You can also leave a comment about how your experience went when you tried making these "Larabar Balls". Have a great day!

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