paleo | Sweet Potato & Spice

Oh, hey there! It seems that once summer hit, I kind of fell off the blogging wagon. But, now that the temps are cooling down and my schedule is returning to normal, I promise to bring many, many delicious recipes into your kitchen! Today I’m going to jump back in with a great snack and on-the-go recipe: Lara Balls.

These energy bites, are a homemade twist on a Larabar. If you’re not familiar, Larabars are energy bars that use dates and almonds (or other nuts) as there base and build flavors from there. And of course, I love any excuse to used my favorite kitchen tool: our Vitamix!

These are SUPER easy to make, your blender or food processor does all (most) of the work!

After the mixture has been processed, it’s time to get your hands a little messy. The mixture will probably seem too loose to be able to roll into balls, and this is partly true. You really need squeeze the mixture in your hands to get it to stick a little before shaping it into a ball. of course, you could also press this into a pan and cut into squares after a few hours in the fridge, but I haven’t tried that before. Watch out though, these little guys are addicting!

Homemade Lara Balls

Servings: 9-10 balls

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: n/a

1/2 C almonds
1/4 C sunflower seeds
1/2 C pitted dates
1/4 C dried cranberries

Add the almonds and sunflower seeds to your food processor or blender; process until coarsely ground
Add the dates and cranberries to the nut mixture; process until combined and slightly cohesive
Roll into ~1in balls
Store in the refrigerator*

*Don’t forget this step! The cool temps in the fridge really help hold the balls together.

Question: What flavor combinations do you think would make awesome Lara Balls?

I have a handful of meals that I cook every other week or so. Taco Frittata is one of those recipes, and is loosely based on this recipe from Everyday Paleo. I know that there are many strong opinions out there, both positive and negative, about the paleo diet. Full disclosure: we aren’t paleo. That being said, I do love a good paleo recipe and we definitely incorporate some paleo recipes into our diet.

This time I used ground beef, but any ground meat (particularly turkey or chicken) would work just fine here. In fact, I usually use ground turkey, but this week ground beef was on sale so ground beef it was! Do you ever buy ground meat at the butcher counter? You should take a look the next time you’re at the store, not only can you buy exactly the amount of meat that you want, but often times the price is the same (if not lower)!

I’m not sure what the typical way to make a frittata is, but I think this way is pretty easy. The hardest part for this recipe is shredding the sweet potato. I think shredding the sweet potato with a food processor would be easier than hand grating it, but I don’t have one so an arm workout it is!

I use taco seasoning in this recipe, but if you don’t have any on-hand, chili powder would be a good substitute. My favorite taco seasoning is from Trader Joes, but watch out, it has a little kick!

Because the sweet potatoes are shredded, and will bake in the oven for 30 minutes, they don’t need much time cooking on the stove top. I usually start pre-heating the oven when I add the sweet potatoes into the pan and the timing is just right.

Baking this frittata in a baking dish makes this recipe a breeze! Once you have poured the eggs on top, give the casserole a little shake to evenly distribute the eggs before baking.