How to Make Leaf-Enriched Power Balls
Power balls are a simple way to deliver a lot of energy and nutrition to poorly nourished children. They can supply plenty of protein and energy in addition to the vitamins and minerals from the green leaf powder. Power Balls can provide much of the benefit of PlumpyNut, a very successful patented therapeutic food used in food emergencies. But they can be made from locally available ingredients and at a much lower cost than the imported PlumpyNut.
Below are recipes for two versions of powerballs. Kids generally like both versions. The first has a citrus lime flavor.
Citrus Lime Power Balls
Begin by chopping 1 cup of peanuts. A food processor or chopper makes an easy job of this, but cutting them with a knife is also easy, it just takes a little longer.
Put these in a bowl. Then chop 1 1/2 cups of raisins, again using either a food processor or chopper or a knife. Because the raisins are sticky the chopping may take a little longer.
Add the raisins to the bowl with the peanuts.
Then add:
1/4 cup of leaf powder and
1/4 cup of dried milk
Finely grated peel from 1 large lime
Juice from 2 large limes.
With clean hands, mix these ingredients together.
After the dough is mixed well, form it into small balls (about 1 inch or an inch-and-a-half in diameter)
Roll the balls in shredded coconut.
The shredded coconut improves the appearance and flavor of the balls and makes them less sticky to handle.
Peanut Butter Power Balls
Put 1 cup of peanut butter into a bowl.
Add:
1/3 cup of powdered milk
1/4 cup of leaf powder
1/2 cup of raisins
Mix the ingredients together well using a spoon. You may need to adjust the dry ingredients or peanut butter slightly. Peanut butters vary quite a bit in consistency.
After the dough is mixed well, form into small balls (about 1 inch in diameter)
Roll the balls in shredded coconut.
Powerballs are a great snack for kids! Along with the valuable protein, vitamins and minerals, they also pack a lot of calories.
Kids need a lot of energy from their food but use some caution if unwanted weight gain or obesity is an issue in your community.
View this video on YouTube (and subscribe to our channel at Leaf for Life @ YouTube)
Other leaf-enriched recipes are in our book 21st Century Greens. You can view (and download) that portion of the book at this link: 21stCentGreens-Appendix-1-Recipes.pdf