Almond Butter Balls

Berit doesn't eat lately, and Marta eats at least once an hour, all day. Sometimes she wakes up at night starving, too. That means I'm constantly coming up with things to give her that are quick yet healthy -- not always succeeding, but trying anyway. I need more portable snacks, because I hate always handing her a granola bar or crackers while we're in the car or out, but seriously, what else? Yes, raisins, we've been there. What else?

This is one snack that I try to keep in the refrigerator on alternating weeks (she gets sick of stuff easily). I've adapted it from The Toddler Cafe, a cookbook I use every few weeks or so when Berit goes on the random hunger strike. We're lucky that our kids tend to eat what we do, but if you're looking to mix it up a little, The Toddler Cafe is fun. Anyway, this recipe is one we do constantly. The book says it makes 12 balls, but Berit eats lots of the "batter" while we're rolling them, so we typically get about eight. If you want to double it, they keep in the refrigerator for five days, and in the freezer indefinitely.

1 1/2 c. cereal, crushed with a mallet (anything works -- my kids love our whole wheat/cinnamon cereal -- the organic equivalent of Cinnamon Toast Crunch)

1/2 c. nonfat dry milk

1/4 c. + 1 T. creamy or chunky almond butter (the original recipe is peanut butter but we use almond, for no reason other than it's just what we have)

1/4 c. + honey (I usually need a little more for sticking power, that's why I put the + in there)

1/4 c. quick-cooking oats

1/4 c. sesame seeds

Place the milk, almond/peanut butter, honey, oats, 3/4 c. cereal and sesame seeds (everything but some of the crushed cereal) in a bowl and mix with your hands until you can form it into 1-inch balls. Put the balls and the rest of the crushed cereal into a zip-top bag and shake and squeeze gently, coating them.

You could also roll the balls in coconut, cocoa powder, crushed nuts or sesame seeds (we just put the sesame seeds on the inside, for more protein).