Happy Monday, friends! I had another post scheduled for today, but then I thought, what’s better than kicking off the week with a giveaway? Right? Exactly!
I’ve been blogging, freelancing, and running my private practice full time since I left the gym in 2015. In the past five years, I’ve had opportunities to work with some of the most amazing people and companies. Of all those opportunities, the chance to meet my friend Tina is definitely towards the top. I had been reading her blog for years, all through Grad school, and while I took my first couple of jobs in nutrition. Her blog, Carrots n’ Cake, inspired me to start my own blog and is among the few blogs I still regularly read all the time. A few years ago, I had the opportunity to both work for her as she started her path toward owning a nutrition business AND, at the same time, take her on as a LEAP MRT client.
It’s been fun to watch her grow, learn, and genuinely invest in her nutrition training. She continually shares great insights and motivation on her Instagram account (@carrotsncake), and you may have noticed I regularly reshare her content because it’s so helpful. 100% on target, with the same messages, I share with my clients.
So, when she asked if I’d like a sneak peek at her new book, the Everything Macro Diet Cookbook, I jumped at the chance! I perused the pages of delicious recipe after delicious recipe after delicious recipe, but then, these Sunbutter Falafel Balls jumped out at me! Since I don’t like beans (it’s a texture thing) but I know they are so good for you, I’m always looking for ways to incorporate them into my diet, and these sounded so interesting!
They were super easy to make. First, you make oat flour, which you probably already know I’m a huge fan of!
Then you add in the remaining ingredients to the food processor.
Make a puree, and then I used a cookie scoop to place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
My sunbutter was sweetened, so these balls came out a little sweet with a golden-brown crust. II don’t know why, but I dipped mine in honey and it was delicious! (I also did this with chicken nuggets as a kid!) Mr. Hungry liked his with barbecue sauce! They were yummy plain too! I never game any to Baby K, they didn’t last that long!
Since I loved the recipe so much, Tina gave me the green light to share this exclusive sneak peek with you guys and even offer a giveaway! The entry form is below the recipe card. I’ll pick the winner on Friday! Good luck!
Sunbutter Falafel Balls
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 can chickpeas rinsed and drained
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup sunbutter
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Place oats and baking powder in a food processor. Pulse until oats form a coarse flour.
- Add chickpeas, pumpkin, sunbutter, lemon juice, cumin, onion powder, cinnamon, andsalt. Process to combine, scraping down the sides with a spatula. If the mixture is toocrumbly, add water, 1 teaspoon at a time, until it holds together when squeezed.
- Form the batter into 18 balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. The batter should make eighteen balls.
- Bake for 20–25 minutes until lightly browned.
- Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack before serving, or refrigerate for up to 5days.
Notes
Sunflower butter is made from nutrient-dense sun-flower seeds, which are a great source of protein, healthy fats, vitamin E, and magnesium. Sun-flower butter actually contains one-third less saturated fat and twice as much fiber compared to most peanut butter.
How much onion powder? These sound amazing and want to try them but there is no onion powder in the ingredient list. Thanks!
My bad! I copy and pasted incorrectly, it’s there now!
Thank you!