Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

March 05, 2015

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls

According to the World Health Organization people worldwide should cut their sugar intake between five and 10 percent of their daily caloric intake. That's only about 12 teaspoons of free and hidden sugars for each adult (at 10%) and only about 5 or 6 teaspoons for children.   If you look at the nutritional values of the processed foods in your cupboard and freezer it wouldn't be hard to eat more than the ten per cent limit. Most of these values are given in grams. Four grams of sugar is equal to one teaspoon. Thankfully, this doesn't include the natural sugars found in fruits, vegetables and grains. You can read more about this news release here.

With this little tidbit of information in mind I thought I'd make a healthy treat for Don. He has quite a sweet tooth and it wouldn't take long for him (or me) to eat more than 12 teaspoons of sugar in a few cookies or a couple of pieces of cake. These Peanut Butter Balls don't contain any refined sugars, as such, although I suppose the apple juice concentrate is a processed food. But, they are certainly healthier than most cookies.

I've had this recipe for a few years and break it out every now and again when I get in a healthy mood, ha, ha. I suppose you could add a handful of mini chocolate chips into the mix but then you really couldn't say they were healthy.

Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
½ cup peanut butter
¼ cup skim milk powder
¼ cup unsweetened coconut
¼ cup raisins, may be chopped
⅓ cup oatmeal
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ cup wheat germ
¼ cup apple juice concentrate
½ teaspoon vanilla
Extra coconut for rolling

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. You can use a spoon to do this or dive right in with your hands. Shape into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in coconut. Store in refrigerator.

Makes 15. Or you may make them a little smaller and you'll get about 22 cookies.