Powerballs

Lately, we have been more intentional about eating more protein and cutting back on carbohydrates.  A side effect of this was that Rich unintentionally went about 5 days without eating gluten.  His skin felt better than it had in years. The red splotches from his severe excema cleared up, his itchiness went away, and generally just felt better. When pizza night rolled around, he ate as many slices as he normally would eat and within an hour he could feel his skin becoming inflamed. It was at this point, he started to think that perhaps he has a gluten intolerance.
My first thoughts were doom and gloom. I've spent the last 6 years figuring out how to make everything from scratch using healthy whole grains ... and now he's not going to be able to eat any of it! Once I got past my own selfishness, I was able to think more clearly. I can do this! The most important thing is that he feel better! I have prayed for my husband for years to feel better ... have asked others to pray for him, and this could be the answer to prayer that I have been waiting for all of these years. Of course I want to be a part of the solution. So, if I need to make changes in my kitchen, then I am going to do it!
We already are super health conscious. This is not going to be that hard. I can make delicious meals without gluten. We've already changed our evening meals to include more raw vegetables, less carbs, and more protein. Since I already make almost everything from scratch ... how hard can it be to eliminate gluten?
The Powerballs pictured above are a special snack that I make for Rich for those times that he has a  little bit of a sweet tooth. They are gluten free - with minimal amount of sweetener ... and packed FULL of protein. They are also easy to play around with as far as substitutions go.
I started with a basic recipe and just played around with it until I got the right consistency. 
The recipe:
1 1/4 Cup Brown Crispy Rice Cereal *
2/3 Cup of toasted unsweetened coconut**
2/3 Cup natural peanut butter
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup raisins or other dried fruit
1/2 Cup flaxseed
2/3 Cup ground almonds
1/3 Cup honey
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 - 1 scoop of protein powder (from peas, hemp, and rice)***

Mix all of the ingredients together and then refrigerate for 30 minutes before forming into balls. Keep refrigerated once they are formed into balls.

*Brown Crispy Rice Cereal has to be marked gluten free - they aren't all gluten free. Some of them contain Barley Malt. You actually have to do a search for the gluten free variety.

**I use Unsweetened Coconut - it's not easy to find at a store, so I order it from Amazon. Since these balls are not cooked, I toast the coconut before putting it in the recipe. I place the coconut on a baking sheet and bake it for a couple of minutes at about 300 degrees. You have to watch it closely so that it doesn't burn. It draws out the flavor of the coconut while also making it easier to chew!

***If you don't have protein powder you can just add more almonds or cut back on the peanut butter a little bit. You really can't go wrong with these since they are no bake.