Quick Balls-Bars Recipe - Chocolate Peanut Butter and Plastic-Free!

Click image to see BIGGER http://www.clifbar.com/food/did_you_know

*The only way is to recycle is to ship the wrappers to Terra Cycle (Sure... how many people have or will do that?)Here's the BIG question! How many people are going to do that?
Reality Check: I wonder what is % of wrappers actually get "upcycled" (recycled). I am sending an email February 18, 2013 to find out. When and if I get responce, I will update here: __________________________

One small box (6 bars) has 0.3 oz plastic wrappers. So if eating those bars for a year at 1 box a week will generate 15.6 oz (16 oz = 1 lb) of non-biodegradable pollution/waste. One little kid will generate around a 1 lb of waste in just one year just from these little bars.

In my quests to eliminate plastic wrapped bars, I tried many raw desserts recipes to substitute his addiction, but he did notany of them to give up his Clif Bar addiction. So I stepped out of my raw-food ideals and made it with a combination of cooked and raw ingredients, all 100% organic, which I purchased from Whole Food Market in glass jars and from the bulk bins using my own biodegradable/compostable BioBags (also sold by Whole Foods), or my 100% organic cotton produce bags or reusable containers.

To lower the transportation impact I refill peanut putter instead of buying every time in a glass jar, (products weight less without glass jar, so it saves?? on fuel..)

The Clif Bar replacement recipe WINNER that is approved by our son!

Recipe Ingredients:

The recipe can be totaly raw and/or whole food if you use raw oats, raw almond butter and date suryp (blended dates with water in a high speed blender). This recipe is not health recipe, but substitution for the peanut butter chocolate Clif Bars.

4 cups rolled oats
1/4- 1/2 cup grounded cacao nibs/beans  or raw cocoa or carob powder
1 cup peanut butter or any nut butter
1/2 cup coconut oil or coconut butter
3/4 cup browen rice syrup or any other syrup, avoid corn syrup* or bee vomit (honey)
1-3 vanilla bean, split lengthwise and scrape seeds inside from the inside or 1-3 Tbsp vanilla extract* (optional) 

 *corn syrup and vanilla extract, if not organic can be GMO.

Recipe Steps:

1) Mix very well all ingriedients In a large mixing bowl
2) Form balls using ice cream scoop
3) Refrigerate or freeze for 20-30 min.
Makes 16 cookies when using 3 Tbsp ice cream scoop, about 2lb 10oz

Recipe Cost (approximate) using 100% Organic Ingriedients

Amount	Ingredient	Approx.
4 cups	rolled oats	> $1
1/4- 1/2 cup	ground cacao nibs/beans or raw cocoa	$1
1 cup	peanut butter	$3
1/2 cup	coconut oil	$2
3/4 cup	brown rice syrup	$2
1	vanilla bean (optional)

  

Total approximate cost of recipe 2 lb 4 oz (36 oz / 1020 g) at $9-$13 vs. Clif Bar at $1 (2.4 oz / 68 g)

Cost Size Comparison* - Quick Ball  vs  Clif Bar

Quick Ball 100% organic and without plastic!	Clif Bar Not 100% organic, with plastic!

*size based on cost of ingredients

When I told my son that he could eat almost 2x more Quick Balls (based on just the cost) it was the last thing needed to convince him to stop asking me to buy any more Clif Bars!!!