"Healthy" Peanut Butter Oat Balls and The Peanut Butter Boy Blog

So there is this great blog that I love that is ALL things peanut butter.  You'd think it would only be goodies made with peanut butter, but oh no, Nick does it all, from chicken salad with peanut butter (don't knock it, try it), to a healthy peanut butter ice cream made with nectarine and banana.  You've gotta check out his blog.  Not only because of all the yummy things he posts, but because he's donating money to help feed the hungry this holiday season.  For every comment that is left on the Feed The Hungry link above, he's going to donate a nickel to The Hunger Site.  I think that is such a great thing to do.  Go leave Nick a quick comment telling him something you're thankful for and check out The Hunger Site to see how you can also donate to a great cause, especially as we all prepare to sit down to our BIG Thanksgiving meals next week.  Through the internet, we can make a difference.  (Thanks, Nick!)

Now, speaking of peanut butter, I have a recipe I'd like to share that I've made up.  Oh, there really are so many other delicious peanut butter recipes out there, but the thing I love about this one is how simple it is to make and that it's a great healthy pop-in-your mouth treat!  And you never know, Nick might like it so much that he'll post it on his blog! ;)

Who knew that November is National Peanut Butter Lover's Month?  I'm telling you, Nick knows all things peanut butter!  In honor of this, he's asking for a compilation of all the peanut butter recipes he can get from whoever wants to send in their yummy creations.  Therefore, I cranked out this simple, tasty treat.

"Healthy" Peanut Butter Oat Balls  (Play with this recipe, you can change it up so many ways!)

1/2 cup peanut butter (Really any kind you'd like, I used mostly Skippy Natural and 2 T. Naturally More Peanut Butter, next time I'm going to go for straight Naturally More, less sugar, or any other all natural pb, and see what I think)

1/2 cup honey (this could probably even be cut down a little)

1/2 cup oats (maybe even a little more, I've made the recipe twice and once used 3/4 cup, still good!)

2 tablespoons ground flax

1/4 cup unsweetened, organic coconut, finely shredded

2 Graham Crackers, crushed (equals about 1/3 cup)

1/3 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped (I used pecans, too)

After warming the peanut butter and honey in the microwave for about 30 seconds, stir until combined.  Then add all the mix-ins and combine.  Form into balls (whatever size you want!) and refrigerate until firm.  I also added a small handful of mini semi-sweet chocolate chips to half the "dough".  Made about 25 ping pong sized balls. 

Here's a picture from the first batch I made, there's no flax and pecans instead of walnuts and I added the chocolate chips while it was still a bit warm, so they melted a little.  All good.  You can play around with things to put in these.

So there you have it, a simple, no-bake, quick, fairly healthy on-the-go snack.  Pack a couple of these to go and you'll never need to buy granola bars again!