Oat, carrot, zucchini, almond and sultana balls won out in ingredient list accuracy, but didn't sound very appealing.
Vanilla oat balls won out in taste accuracy, but seemed a bit misleading given the longer ingredient list.
Oat cookie balls didn't sound quite right.
Balls with a twist sounded quite wrong.
Super snack balls it was.
In truth, these are super snack balls. They are incredibly easy to make. They include both carrot and zucchini. The sweetener is limited to sultanas. They are not particularly portable, going soft if left out of the fridge for too long, but as an easy snack (or even an easy breakfast) - they work very well indeed.
I'm not sure what prompted me to put zucchini in the ingredient list, other than the success of the carrot, nut and date balls I made back in August. I have found that zucchini works well in just about every baked product that carrot works in, and it seems that part of me wanted to see if the same was true of no-bake products.
It is.
These reminded me slightly of carrot cake, but only very slightly. The taste was really of vanilla but with a texture and depth that went far beyond that. There was no zucchini taste, and other than the small occasional flecks of green, you wouldn't know it was in there.
In all, I am really quite enamored with these. I can also see zucchini having another resurgence in my kitchen. It really is a very versatile vegetable!
Super snack balls
These have a super ingredient list and deliver super flavour
Makes about 16 large balls
Vegan
Ingredients
1/2 large zucchini, grated (~1/2 cup grated)
1/2 large carrot, grated (~1/3 cup grated)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raw almonds
1/2 cup sultanas (small raisins)
1 tsp vanilla essence
Method
Grate the zucchini and carrot and then set aside (I did this using the grater attachment on my food processor).
Combine the oats, almonds, sultanas and vanilla in a food processor and process until well mixed and the ingredients are starting to clump together. Add the zucchini and carrot and process briefly, until combined.
(If you don't add the zucchini and carrot at the end, they are likely to end up over-processed and the mixture will be too moist.)
Roll into balls and refrigerate for 2 - 4 hours before serving. Store in the refrigerator.
I'm submitting this to Ricki's Wellness Weekend 22nd - 26th November 2012.
What do you think of zucchini in 'sweet' / baked products?
he he balls with a twist!! These do look lovely, great ingredient list! I love zucchini in sweet baked goods, it's adds nice moistness (moistness? moisture).
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
I'm all for moistness, both as a word and in my snacks, and agree that zucchini provides it perfectly!
Deletethese sound great! I love how little sugar there is in them!
ReplyDeleteI really like zucchini in sweet baked goods! As Heidi said- great moistness and when it bakes it gets a little sweet which goes so well with things like molasses, raisins and nuts.
Thanks Gabby - it is definitely a vegetable that comes into its own when baked (or combined with the ingredients you mention) :-) I love how little sugar is in these too.
DeleteI love zucchini in sweet food but don't eat it that much - I don't think I have had it raw in this way but I imagine its bland taste would be unchallenging. Would these balls be less soft if you squeezed the liquid out of the carrot and zucchini?
ReplyDeleteThat is a great suggestion, thank you - yes, absolutely. They were fine in texture from the fridge but it would be nice to have them a little more portable, especially with summer temperatues increasing. Next time I wil try squeezing the liquid first!
DeleteThese look amazing, Kari. I wouldn't have thought it possible to add zucchini to a raw recipe but it looks like your recipe has worked out really well. I can imagine these being a great snack for during the day xx
ReplyDeleteThanks Charlie, they were quite wonderful for those dips in energy (and/or peaks in boredom!) in the afternoon.
DeleteI love zucchini in muffins -- so I think these will be a winner. I'm adding zucchini to my grocery list now so I can make these later in the week.
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy them Kimbelina :-)
DeleteI love this recipe! I always love when I can sneak veggies into my treats, and this sounds like a total winner. : ) I am very pro zuccs in sweet treats! My mom and I used to make zucchini bread muffins when I was young, so it's kind of a nostalgic thing for me. : )
ReplyDeleteWhat lovely memories to have with your mother. For me the equivalent is probably banana bread (we seemd to always have bananas needing to be used up in my childhood!) but now I'm an adult I think I like zucchini baked goods more ;)
DeleteI would definitely leave them out to go soft and then squish 'em together with the macadamia cashew butter I bought in a not-fancy grocery store today. Not fancy. God bless Canada.
ReplyDeleteOf course you would ;) And God bless indeed - all the more so for their capacity to not self-promote themselves as much as certain (unnamed) countries and yet still provide perks like that!
DeleteOk, am I the only one the chuckled at "balls with a twist"?? :) These look yummy! I have made a spice loaf and used zucchini and it turned out great! I didn't taste the zucchini at all. :)
ReplyDeleteI chuckled as I was writing it :D
DeleteA spice loaf with zucchini sounds fantastic!
oh those look like such a great snack to have throughout the day!
ReplyDeleteThank you - they certainly made snacking fun!
DeleteI haven't used zucchini in a sweet dish but I can imagine it would be great. We eat it ALL the time. It is delicious and such a great thing to add to nearly any dish. In fact we eat so many that this year we decided to give growing them a go. I will no doubt report on the progress but so far we have 5 leaves and an indication that flowers are coming.
ReplyDeleteThat is very exciting Lisa! I'll look forward to hearing how they get on - hopefully with lots and lots of edible results :)
DeleteWith all these rockstar ingredients, these sound like they could give you superpowers!!
ReplyDeleteThat would certainly be a bonus ;)
DeleteHa, balls with a twist - sounds painful ;)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE this idea Kari - I would never have considered it, but I am most intrigued and will be giving this a go for sure!