Greetings from the tundra, y’all!
I am- surprise!- in Minnesota for the weekend visiting my family. The last time I was here, in August, it was in the high 80s and looked like this.
As I type this, I’m wearing two pairs of pants, two shirts, two sweaters, hat and scarf, and my superduper parka. And that’s just for the walk to the car! It’s the “Feels like 13˚” that gets me. I am, admittedly, kind of a baby about the cold.
Anyway, as much as I’d like to chat more with you about weather, I’m here today to talk about balls.
Ever since I went to see my allergist a couple weeks ago (and learned I can’t have almonds or cashews and have a sensitivity to wheat and milk protein), I’ve been at a bit of a loss over what to snack on. (I haven’t gotten the full results of the tests back, but I’m trying to see if omitting those nuts makes a dramatic difference in how I feel.) I’m one of those people who is hungry almost all the time, and need to eat every couple hours or I get a serious case of the crankies. I usually keep granola or a Larabar in my purse to snack on when I’m out and about, but almost all of the packaged versions have wheat products and/or almonds. So I decided to make my own. It’s really easy (especially since I could open a dry-goods store with all of the dried fruit and nuts I have in my pantry) and way more cost-effective than buying boxes of store-bought snacks.
When my mom was pregnant, she ate walnuts and raisins by the bushel to keep her energy up; walnuts are high in iron and B-vitamins (and a host of other nutrients including zinc, magnesium, calcium and phosphorous) but plain raisins have never really been my thing. Dried cherries, on the other hand, are a little more exciting and always feel fancy. These Two-Bite Chocolate Cherry Balls are the perfect size to keep in your schoolbag, glove compartment, cargo pocket, and fridge. Pop a couple for lunchtime dessert, a pre-workout snack, or when you need a little pick-me-up during a marathon study session in the library. I’m going to experiment with a cashew-free version of these Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls, too.
TWO-BITE CHOCOLATE CHERRY BALLS
Makes 15- 20 balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. unsweetened dried cherries
- 8 pitted dates
- 1 c. walnuts
- 1 oz unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped (I used 1 square of Baker’s chocolate)
- 1/4 t (heaping) sea salt
Combine all ingredients, except chocolate, in a food processor. Blend until finely ground. Pulse in chocolate. Roll into balls with clean, dry hands. Store in an airtight container.
I packed up a few balls for my trip (as well as some breakfast mix-ins should I get stuck in the airport). Good thing, too, because the jar of food I’d brought for myself- which contained no liquids- was confiscated by the TSA. Hmpf.
Have you had any bad travel experiences?
What are your favorite grab-and-go snacks?
Lame! They took your food? I’d be so bad. The balls sound SO yummy! Grab and go- I like an apple and peanut butter! Enjoy the trip
Yum! I love all of those ingredients. They’re kind of like homemade Larabars, but with walnuts. I like.
I always have a fear that the snacks I bring for my flights will get confiscated, but so far, no problems. On my trip to Disney I brought some Larabars, some of those squeeze and go applesauce packets, and some chocolate peanut butter packets for my race.
Why would they take your food if it contained no liquids?! I’d be screwed if that happened to me.
Actually, it DID happen to me, albeit indirectly: the airline lost my luggage when I went to St. Lucia, and I had to eat carrots until they got it back to me. I didn’t even want to look at a carrot for weeks after that.
Enjoy the MN warmth — it felt like -7° here this morning!
<3 <3
oh man those look super tasty! wtf TSA. SERIOUSLY?! ugh yeah i had a horrible time trying to get to HLS last year. i was delayed 4x and boarded the plane on and off 2x. i arrived in philly at midnight and then they lost my luggage so i got to the hotel at 230am with nothing. fun! ha
oh love these! lately i’ve been totally in love with walnuts too! i’m sad for you that almonds are out of your life, they’re my usual go-to snack either that or homemade protein bars! or egg whites in a whole wheat wrap! easy to throw in a zippy and take on the run i think! HAVE FUn!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
These looks delicious! I love how dates are so versatile and you can make so many different things just by pulsating dates into paste. Have fun in Minnesota!
I hate airplanes. I always feel like I’m breathing other people’s already used air. But those chocolate chip balls look delicious! I am a huge larabar fan but they definitely are expensive! I’m going to have to try and make these instead!