Iron Booster Balls

[Tam]

Thanks for this recipe - my girls love it!!!!!
I used a combo of dates, sultanas and apricots and used pepitas and sunflower seeds instead of the wheatgerm.... We don't have juice in the fridge as a rule and didn't have any fresh citrus but discovered some cranberry juice lurking in the depths of the fridge - worked really well!!!!!!  I blitzed mine for a little longer than stated - just to make them a little smoother.  Really easy and versatile!!!

[classmyth]

These are yummy!
I milled the almonds to almond meal first, then added the dried fruit and chopped by turbo pulsing, then added the rest of the ingredients as cathy79 did.
The dried peaches are very high in iron - hence "Iron Booster Balls", substituting them for other things will still make them as yummy, but they obviously won't be as iron-rich.
Including the orange juice is important, as Vitamin C helps the intestine absorb iron more efficiently, hence why it's a good idea to drink juice with a meat meal if you're iron-deficient.
I left out the milk powder too, as calcium competes with iron when they are both trying to be absorbed in the intestine. I'm sure the author Julie Wood included it as a method of boosting the protein content.

(PS the dried apricots and peaches both weigh 80g, almonds 40g, and coconut 35g)

[Cornish Cream]

At what age could you start giving these to a child? Looking for recipes to try on GS when he's got teeth

[judydawn]

    Aren't those blessed teeth through yet CC 

[Cornish Cream]

Not a sign of them yet Judy.

[classmyth]

My 8 month old had a go at one of these yesterday - just after I made them while they were still quite soft, and I broke it in halves for him. It disappeared very quickly! I follow the new allergy recommendations of feeding any foods after 4 months, but I know there are people who still prefer to follow the old guidelines of delaying nuts.

[Cornish Cream]

Thanks classmyth.He ten months old so might make some or him but whether his Mum approves is another thing

[classmyth]

I made these today using earth mumma's tip of LSP mix as a nut substitute and they were great!!!! I love them with almonds, but our childcare centre is nut-free too, so that was a fab tip!

The weights I have written in my cookbook are 10g pepitas, 10g sunflowers, 15g linseeds, then 80g peaches, 80g apricots, 35g dessicated coconut, 20g orange juice and 20g boiling water, 15g wheatgerm, 20g of powdered skim milk. I might be a bit light on the fruit.