Healthy Tasty Chowcleaner recipes, reviews, toddler mom stuff and food chatter

When I went to camp as a kid - I remember thinking how strange it was that the two things they put out on the tables for kids was peanut butter and prunes.  I think the peanut butter was supposed to go on your bread if you didn’t like your bland meal and maybe with the prunes they were worried about stopped up kids nervous being away from home?   Of course I was the only kid who actually liked prunes and ate them.  I can’t remember who exactly did it first, but we discovered that if you put peanut butter on the prune, it tastes just like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich!  Lots of brave children tried prunes that summer:)  I wonder if the stigma is still attached to the new wording version of prunes: dried plums?

These peanut butter balls taste richly of peanut butter with a little crunch from the peanuts and the slightly jam/jelly flavor from the prunes.  I prefer my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches open faced, light on the jam.  Have you tried St Dalfour jams?  Amazing, sweetened with fruit juice concentrate, nothing artificial, full fruit and perfect.  My husband likes the four fruits and I like apricot.  For the PB bites, if you’re more of a jam/jelly person add more chopped up prunes!  You’ll notice in the picture above how one is rolled in coconut, one is rolled in powdered sugar, and another has a candy coated chocolate - this is to make them look cool and entice my two year old to eat them (I prefer them plain).  O chose a chocolate candy one and wolfed it down.  He LOVED it!  Mid-way through eating it he wanted another one.  But…then he almost choked on it since he put another one in his mouth before he was done with the first one and now he doesn’t want anymore.  So, hopefully your kid will like them too and nothing traumatic happens so they don’t associate these with choking.  Darn it - should’ve waited to give it to him when he was done with the first!!!  I made these bites pretty small but maybe should’ve made them even smaller for O.  I ate so many of these last night they were dinner, and this morning they were breakfast.  At least they’re rich in protein and fiber:)  Think I need some veggies for lunch today though.  I couldn’t tell you that everyone would like it - but probably if you like pb&j’s and eat somewhat healthy, you will.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup pitted prunes + 4 prunes, chopped - more prunes if you prefer more jelly in your PB&J’s
• 1/2 cup pitted dates
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/4 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/4 cup chopped roasted salted peanuts (Or replace creamy pb and nuts with 3/4 cup crunchy pb)

Method:

• puree 1/2c prunes and dates in food processor or blender
• Mix all ingredients together
• Roll into balls - to entice kids, you can try adding or rolling it in all kinds of things!  Candy covered chocolates worked for us:) 

How do you like your PB&Js?