No-Bake California Prune Power Balls
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This post was written in sponsored partnership with our friends over at California Prune Board, helping me to help YOU energize YOUR nutrition. All opinions written here are my own.
If your body’s energy is like a cell phone, what percent battery life do you have by the end of the day? Many people are less than 10% by the end of the day, leaving them with an almost-empty tank and little motivation to do more than flopping on the couch to decompress from the day. Forget about cooking supper or much of anything else!
During the day, food helps charge up our body’s battery pack. Yet, almost 40% of Canadians say they skip meals, replacing 1 or 2 meals a day with snacks (1), and 20% of Canadians say they eat between-meal snacks several times a day in place of a meal (2). Most of us need a snack to power through our day. What we choose can impact our health and well-being.
Refuel with planned snacks
Snacks don’t have to come from a package. Choosing good-tasting, less-processed foods more often helps to fuel our body while also giving us hidden benefits from the foods we choose…Apples, oranges, bananas, nuts or dried fruit, like prunes. Did you know that snacking on prunes gives us a naturally sweet taste, while also contributing to satiety and bone health? Eating 5-6 prunes a day was found to slow bone loss in post-menopausal women (3,4).
You can enjoy prunes in their rustic as-is state… or you can mix California Prunes together with almond butter and other wholesome ingredients to create a naturally sweet, bite-sized snack with a delightful crispy texture for a satisfying energy boost!
Here is my latest home-prepared snack: No-Bake California Prune Power Balls! This recipe is found on www.californiaprunes.ca, and is reprinted here with permission from the California Dried Plum Board.
Recipe: No-Bake California Prune Power Balls
- 30 pitted California Prunes (about 1 cup/250 mL packed)
- ⅓ cup (75 mL) almond butter
- 2 tbsp (30 mL) honey
- ½ cup (125 mL) rice crisp cereal
- ¼ cup (50 mL) unsalted, roasted sunflower seeds
- ⅓ cup (75 mL) unsweetened, desiccated coconut (approx.)
- Pulse prunes with almond butter and honey in a food processor until finely chopped. Transfer to bowl.
- Stir in rice crisps and sunflower seeds by hand until well mixed.
- Scoop level tablespoonfuls prune mixture; form into balls and roll in coconut to coat. Repeat until all mixture is used.
- Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for 1 hour to set or for up to 1 week. You can also freeze these power balls for up to a month!
Additional culinary tips:
- Add in a sprinkle of hemp hearts, flax or chia seeds for added nutrition.
- For a chocolatey twist, stir in 1 tbsp (15 mL) dark mini chocolate chips.
Nutrition Information per serving (1 power ball):
70 calories, 3.5 g fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 5 mg sodium, 9 g carbohydrates, 1 g fibre, 5 g sugars, 1 g protein. %DV: 1% calcium and 2% iron.
Other ways to enjoy prunes are below:
** This is a sponsored blog post through the California Dried Plum Board (California Prunes). I received financial compensation from the California Dried Plum Board to highlight this research. All opinions written here are my own and are consistent with my professional perspective and beliefs, otherwise, I would not have participated in this opportunity.
References:
- Competitiveness and Market Analysis Section, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Consumer Corner. Issue 48; Jan 2019. Snack Food. Available from: http://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/sis16798/$file/consumercorner_snackfood1.pdf?OpenElement
- Dietitians of Canada. Member Resource Manual. 2019. Unlock the Potential of Food. Available from: NutritionMonth2019.ca[login required].
- Hooshmand S1, Kern M2, Metti D2, Shamloufard P2, Chai SC3, Johnson SA4,5, Payton ME6, Arjmandi BH4,7. The effect of two doses of dried plum on bone density and bone biomarkers in osteopenic postmenopausal women: a randomized, controlled trial. Osteoporos Int.2016 Jul;27(7):2271-2279. doi: 10.1007/s00198-016-3524-8. Epub 2016 Feb 22. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26902092
- Bahram H. Arjmandi,1,2,* Sarah A. Johnson,3 Shirin Pourafshar,1,2 Negin Navaei,1,2,4 Kelli S. George,1,2 Shirin Hooshmand,5 Sheau C. Chai,6 and Neda S. Akhavan1,2 Bone-Protective Effects of Dried Plum in Postmenopausal Women: Efficacy and Possible Mechanisms Nutrients. 2017 May; 9(5): 496. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5452226/
