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The original recipe for these snack balls comes from my aunt Carol. I don’t know where she got it from, so I don’t know whom to give credit to, but we’ve changed them up quite a bit according to what we like and I’m sure you guys will like them too! The recipe makes about 30-40 balls, so you’ll have plenty to last for awhile. Keep them in the freezer to grab at a moment’s notice for a quick dessert or on-the-go snack.
These snack balls are more calorie-dense than a lot of recipes I post; but I’ve found that because of their miniature state and the fact that they are already portioned into a set size (i.e. I’m not subjectively cutting a slice of cake or something), I can keep my portions fairly controlled. Generally I shoot for two balls per meal/snack. If you have problems with portion control, you may not want to make these or you can use them as an exercise in saying “no” to excess (in light of my post on Friday about food freedom and gluttony).
You can snag my “official” pin for this post here.
You can find this recipe in my cookbook, Necessary Food.
- 2 cups unsweetened finely-shredded coconut flakes (you could probably use regular coconut flakes as well but the balls might be more crumbly)
- 1 cup crushed nuts of choice (we like peanuts or almonds)
- ½ cup old-fashioned oats (use gluten free if necessary)
- ½ cup sunflower seeds
- ¼ cup oat fiber (use gluten free if necessary)
- ¼ cup ground golden flax
- 2 T cocoa powder
- Pinch of salt
- ⅛ tsp. (4 doonks) THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder (adjust the sweetener level to your liking; some may like it sweeter)
- 2 packets of Truvia (1½ tsp.) or ¾ tsp. THM Super Sweet Blend
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
- 1 cup natural peanut butter
- Splash of vanilla extract
- 2 T water (enough to make the dough moldable)
- In a large mixing bowl, stir all the dry ingredients together until evenly mixed. Melt the butter and mix it with the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Pour this into the dry ingredients and add as much water as you need to make the dough fairly moldable; mix it all together with your hands. Use a rounded tablespoon cookie scoop to portion the dough and then roll it into balls with your hands. Place on a cookie sheet and freeze till firm. Store in the freezer.
- I recommend keeping your serving size on these limited to two balls/meal since they are fairly calorie-dense.
If you don't have oat fiber or ground golden flax, you could try substituting some almond or coconut flours, more coconut, more nuts, more seeds, etc. Having some flour in there gives a smoother texture and helps things stick together better, though.
Suggested Products:
- Finely Shredded Coconut Flakes
- Oat Fiber (a gluten free product can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store)
- McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract
- Hershey Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- Truvia
- THM Pure Stevia Extract Powder, my sweetener of choice, can be purchased from the Trim Healthy Mama online store.
These snack balls were delicious. Perfect snacks for kids. Thanks for sharing!
these are great but was wondering how many you could have at one time
Serving sizes are really subjective depending on your own personal calorie needs and what else you’re eating at the same time, but 2-3 is a good baseline. 🙂
I made these today with the THM Peanut butter Junkie recipe and viola’! Success!
Many thanks Briana for I no longer search for that quick out the door snack. This made 30 balls with the small ice cream scoop. Perfect!
I’m so glad the Peanut Junkie Butter worked! That’s a great way to reduce the calories in these!
I’ve had great success using E peanut butter in all types of protein balls. (Name of peanut butter escapes me ATM, but it’s in the THM cookbook)
really lightens up the calorie load.
The Peanut Junkie Butter? Great idea! It’s actually a Fuel Pull, so it can be used in any fuel type!
I just tried making these and they didn’t make a dough to be able to roll in my hands. I followed your recipe but I did notice my natural peanut butter was quite runny. Any suggestions?
I’d add some extra coconut flakes and flaxmeal until the dough will stick together. 🙂
These sound yummy and I can’t wait to make them. I have a question though and hope you can explain it to me. Why are there 2 different sweeteners in this recipe? I see this is a lot of recipes and do not understand the need. I am still new to making THM sweets. Thanks for your great recipes
Hi Debbie! For some reason, recipes using alternative sweeteners often taste best when several sweeteners are used (just like things made with alternative flours often benefit from using a mixture of flours). They have a more “balanced” sweet taste. Another reason for using multiple sweeteners is for economy. In this recipe I used both stevia (which is super concentrated and very economical) as well as Truvia (not nearly as concentrated). I like to use stevia because it’s cheap, but when used on its own it doesn’t always taste the best, hence why I added some Truvia to help round things out.
What could be done to make these nutfree??? More seeds and maybe dried fruit, thinking for my kids to take to school (which is a nutfree environment).
More seeds and coconut would be a good option for replacing the nuts. You could use sunbutter in place of the peanut butter?
I do not like coconut, but would love to have a snack like this for grab and go. Do you have anything similar without the coconut? Or could a substitution be made? Thanks!
The finely-shredded unsweetened coconut flakes that I linked to in the recipe actually don’t have much of a coconut flavor at all! (At least to me, and I’m not a big fan of coconut myself.) If you don’t want to use the coconut flakes, you could probably sub more oats, but that starts taking you toward THM:XO territory. You can always experiment with adding extra nuts, seeds, and flours to make up the volume difference as well and still stay in THM:S mode. 🙂
Ok, thanks. I will experiment a little and let you know.
Nan, Did you ever get a chance to experiment? I actually don’t mind the coconut flavor as much as the texture. (Feels like strings in my mouth)
Can I omit the oats? I do not eat any grains, even gluten-free oats. Thank you. These look yummy!
I wouldn’t omit the oats, but you could try substituting the same amount of coconut flakes, crushed nuts, and/or sunflower seeds to make up for the volume. 🙂
can these be made without nuts and pb? Would they still stick together?
I doubt they’d stick together as well without the peanut butter, but you could try substituting coconut flakes for the nuts and coconut oil for the peanut butter and see if it works. 🙂
I am looking for something like lactation cookies and a quick grab for food when I’m handling my newborn in a couple of weeks. Do you think these would be a good choice for that? If not, do you have any suggestions on another recipe? I find myself having trouble keeping my blood sugar up because I forget to eat.
Well having never had a baby, I’m not sure I would be a great authority on what would or wouldn’t be a good choice for that. 😛 I know there are some THM Lactation Cookies out there…try Google. I can’t imagine that these snack balls would be a BAD choice.
If you only have 2 per snack, what else do you eat with these? Also how often do you have these-they look delicious. I always look forward to your recipes.
I would either try to just stop at 2 of these for my snack, or if I were still hungry, I would probably add a spoonful of cottage cheese or Greek yogurt on the side. 🙂 As for how often to eat them, that’s a question that definitely varies from person to person. If you find your weight loss being stalled, try eating them only once a day or once every other day.
I’m very excited to try this THM version! Have you ever used coconut oil instead of butter? Just curious. Thanks!!
I don’t think we have, but I’m sure you could.
Hi. Your recipes all look so good. I’m trying to find THM snack bars to take to work. I’m confused about the butter added to the oats. Doesn’t that make this a crossover?
The oats in this recipe are such a small amount that they add less than 1 gram of net carbs per snack ball. 🙂
Is it possible to get a free copy of THM? Anyone who no longer is needing their copy?
I highly doubt that anyone would no longer need her copy of the book, but you could try asking on the Trim Healthy Mama main FB group page. Sometimes kind souls buy books for people who cannot afford them.
Hi Elaine. If you don’t mind some distress, I have an extra copy I would love to send you. My email is [email protected].
Blessings to you.
That’s so sweet of you, Michelle. I’ll make sure Elaine gets your message.