Power Balls and Broken Bones

The GAL has a challenge on her hands and it’s an unexpected one at that.

This is my father in law's childhood wheelbarrow, aka "Bone Breaker."

A couple of weeks ago, the above antique toy fell on my crossed legs. Actually my father-in-law's childhood toy wheelbarrow was thrown down by a certain two year old. But what grandparent is going to rat out her grandchild?

You know the rhyme "Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me."  Well, the two year old didn't have the attention getting vocabulary words she needed so she threw the wheelbarrow at me instead.  Bless her. It's tough going from being the baby to becoming the middle child.

The wheelbarrow hit the end of my femur. I swallowed words but didn't swallow my tears. My five year old grandson kept running into the bathroom and getting squares of toilet paper to put on my booboo. He's going to be a doctor some day. I just know it. So proud. 

I broke down and went to the doctor when the pain kept getting worse. X-rays told the tale. Think cracked hard-boiled eggs.

It’s what the end of my femur looks like at the moment.  A cracked hard-boiled egg shell.

Now you might think you don't have to pay attention to this post because your bones are fine. I have osteoporosis due to decades of thyroid supplement use and probable gluten issues.  But the doc says  “regular” people also dent their bones all the time. No one eats as much calcium as they should.

As far as my own healing process, not much to do but take anti-inflammatories and eat high calcium food to help in the healing process. I can't take calcium pills. They, like so many meds, have ingredients that spell allergy trouble for me.  

What foods are high in calcium? Some little known facts:

Smelt - The fish not the metal production process. Sardines too. But you have to eat the little bones (sticks). Nope, not going to happen for me.

Condensed milk - two tablespoons give you 10% of your daily requirement.

Sesame seeds and almonds (stones if you will) - who knew an ounce has almost as much calcium as a cup of milk?

Arugula- if you eat a salad made with three cups, that is almost 400 mgs.

Now there are more common calcium boosters: Milk, cheese, yogurt, almonds, broccoli and dark leafy green veggies.

I have the common calcium boosters covered.  What intrigued me the most was the seed and nut idea. I need a snack to keep my blood sugar regulated. So I decided to kill two birds with one stone (or a few). I'd make Power Balls.

No, no, no. I didn't go out and buy a lottery ticket. But I might be able to afford one now! Power BARS are an expensive snack to take hiking or rely on. Most cost over a $1 a bar, more if sold individually. Ah, but Power Balls are a different story.

Power Balls, some without coconut for my friends who are not fans.

Homemade Power Balls, Raw Balls or Nut Balls are the latest craze in the raw food world. Raw food means you stick as close to natural states in food. No cooking to take out the nutrients. Power Balls are the perfect snack when you just need a little something to keep you going  or a snack to take hiking. Yay, it's almost hiking season again. And I plan on being healed up and ready to go.

As with most of my recipes, I looked at a bunch of recipes on Pinterest and adapted them to make my own version. The great thing about Power Balls is you add a dab of this and a dab of that. Some folks like to add a bit of coconut oil. Some like to add honey. Some add a nut butter. Some soak their nuts to make them bind better (ewwwwww! I just couldn't do it.)  I just wanted to keep the calcium high and the sugar lower than some of the recipes.

Going nuts! You'll have plenty leftover for the next batch. They won't last long.

 Julie's High Calcium Power Balls

15-20 small pitted dates (fewer if they are larger)
1 cup chopped almonds
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup sunflowers
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk (you can also use honey or maple syrup but I wanted the calcium)
Dash salt (if you like a sweet and salty taste), optional
Coconut, sesame seeds, cocoa powder or confectioners sugar for coating, optional

Step 1: Chop dates and then process in a food processor or blender until they almost make a paste. Remove and put in mixing bowl.


Step 2:  Add almonds and pecans to processor, pulse gently until rough chopped. Add to date mixture. Stir to distribute dates in with nuts or use your hands.


Step 3: Add sunflowers and pumpkin seeds.  Mix again.

Step 4: Add sweetened condensed milk, salt, and stir until evenly distributed.

Step 5: Using a tablespoon measure or cookie scoop, drop balls in coating, rolling around to coat.

Step 6: Place on parchment or wax paper and place in freezer for at least one hour.

Step 7: Transfer to airtight container and store in refrigerator one week.

Makes approximately 20 one-inch balls.  One ball equals one serving.  

So what is your favorite high calcium food? Have you ever broken a bone? Recited the rhyme Sticks and Stones more often than you'd like?





 

 

Do Not Try This At Home

CAVEAT: Bringing about Armageddon can be dangerous. Do not attempt it in your own home. — Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

You know those ads, the ones of those daredevils racing up a stone pillar in Arizona or athletes climbing down a cliff perched about a river. What does the ad always say? Do not try this at home. 

I do love the Mythbusters. But do I learn from their cautionary tales? No.

Apparently I didn't think this warning applied to me. As the GAL (Gluten-free Allergy Challenged Living) blogger, I make my own versions of comfort foods and basic ingredients. I don't try, I DO. What can I say, I am a big Yoda fan.

"Do. Or do not. There is no try." The gnome has nothing to add.

This week I was bound and determined to make my own version of sweetened condensed milk using coconut sugar and whole grass-fed cow milk.  It involves a very slow process on the stove of cooking the milk and sugar mixture to get the milk condensed, just like making an au jus or other condensed gravy from meat juices. But it wouldn't thicken.  Silly me. I thought I would cook it longer. Silly me. I ended up with a burnt pan. Silly me. I tried it again but it wouldn't thicken.  I decided not to risk another pan or package of sugar or gallon of milk.

Sigh. In a bad way.

Lesson: There is a reason Mr. Borden received kudos for his invention of sweetened condensed milk. Industralized canning has its place. Do not try this at home. 

If you look at Pinterest, there are plenty of recipes that start out looking like one thing and end up looking like another.  DIY blow pops. DIY Poptarts. DIY Thin Mints. Think of the possibilities. Now think of the disasters that could occur from sticking a piece of bubble gum on a stick and placing it in hot sugar water. Or trying to make sure both sides of a fake poptart don't come apart in the toaster. Or the fantasy of a homemade thin mint being thin!  Do you really believe they look like the pictures?

Lesson: There is a reason all those treats are perfectly formed when you take them out of the box or bag. Homemade reality isn't as pretty as fantasy or industrial production. Plus, do you really need more carbs in the house? Do not try this at home.

I think a lot of recipes for "look alike" foods are doomed to failure just like those commercials where someone has said "Get me someone who sounds like Morgan Freeman." People can tell it isn't Morgan Freeman. Saying "I want someone who looks exactly like Liam Neeson in Schindler's List or Love Actually" is just as impossible. Iconic people, just like iconic treats or ingredients or quick foods, can't be replicated.

Have I spoiled your dreams? Or relieved your guilt over that five piece set of pots you ruined trying to  recreate a restaurant's signature dish?  Have you had an epic fail? Or have you developed the perfect substitute for an ingredient or dish because you are way more proficient than I am at such things?