This is such a great book. It's small in size and only contains 15 recipes, but it's filled with nutritional information and suggestions for recipe variations. The possibilities seem almost endless. I love the contemporary layout.
The book starts off with an ingredients section. It's not just a list, however. It explains the nutritional importance of the ingredients used in the recipes. Next, there are general directions on how to make the no-bake and baked/pan-fried balls. In addition, there are directions on how to prep (soaking, boiling, roasting, etc.) some of the ingredients before the ball making can begin.
For each of the recipes, there's a list of ingredients, directions for making the balls, some nutritional information, as well as a gorgeous photograph of the finished product.
All of the recipes sound great and I've already made a list of ones I have to make for sure. There's really only one that doesn't appeal to me: Carrot & Red Beet Buckwheat Balls (page 24). I adore beets, but I don't like buckwheat...at all. I'm sure if I substitute another grain, though, they'll be yummy.
Because the recipes look so good, I immediately had to try a couple of them. Both the Peanut Butter & Banana Balls (page 44) and Sweet Potato Spicy Bites (page 34) turned out great. We ate the sweet ones for a snack, and the savoury ones with chicken and Brussels sprouts for supper. My husband thought the sweet potato bites needed a little something and since they are a bit spicy, I quickly made a dip out of Greek yogurt. Yum. My only complaint is that the recipe called for one sweet potato. No size or measurement mentioned. If you've ever bought sweet potatoes, you know they come in varying sizes...from those that fit neatly in the palm of your hand to others about half the size of a football (see Superstore for these ones).
Most of the recipes call for a food processor to chop up or incorporate the ingredients. However, if you don't have one, the book provides some alternatives so that the balls can be made by hand. I like this idea because cleaning out a food processor isn't my favourite job and sometimes mixing by hand is just easier.
There's one other thing I should mention about the book. It contains some ingredients that might be a little hard to find. Things like acai powder, bee pollen, moringa powder, and spirulina, probably won't be on your grocer's shelves. A health food store or online might be the a good place to find these. Don't worry, though, those ingredients don't make up the bulk of the balls. In fact, for one of the recipes I tried, I just omitted the ingredient.
As an added bonus, DK, the publisher, has a page on their website dedicated to one of these delicious sounding bites: Tropical Immune Boosters (page 42). Click here for a video and PDF download of the recipe. These look so delicious and are definitely on my list to try. The only reason I haven't made them yet is because I didn't have all of the ingredients on hand.
The book also contains a table of contents, glossary, and index. I really like the table of contents a lot. It starts with a list of general items, then uses pictures and page numbers for the recipes. Cool idea.
Highly recommended.
For more information about this book, please visit Amazon's website. To take a quick peek inside, click on the book cover!
I'd like to thank Chris at DK Canada for this review copy.
Energy Bites by DK Publishing, Dorling Kindersley (DK), ©2016. ISBN 9781465451538(Hardcover), 61p.
this sounds like a useful book, I know my son would devour anything I made from it. Thanks for the review.
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