Our two-year-old used to be such a good eater. She would eat anything we gave her in the purée stage. Even after that she stayed a pretty good eater for a while. But for the last six months or so she’s grown more and more picky. I’m always looking for creative ways to get her some protein and honestly some calories. So we tried these peanut butter m&m oat balls that I upgraded to create a fun seasonal version. She loves them!
I love that they are easy to make and are flexible. You can do M&Ms or raisins, or even switch it up for some peppermint. Get creative. Once you decide what’s going in, just add everything to a bowl and mix them all together. Once mixed, ball them up and put in mini muffin tins so hold them steady while cooling in the fridge.
This recipe made 6 pretty good size oat balls, but I’d say these are adult sized. Next time I’ll make them about half this size for Annie. The larger size fit nicely in the palm of her hand, but usually went unfinished and created a sticky mess wherever she decided to leave them after she finished picking out the M&Ms from the remaining part she didn’t eat. So I think the smaller size would be easier to finish the whole thing with less waste. I’m sure she’ll still find a way to make a mess though.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups quick oats
- ½ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 Tbsp salted caramel syrup
- Dash of pumpkin spice
- M&Ms to taste
Directions
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl
- Shape the all into 6 medium ball or 12 small balls
- Store in refrigerator for an hour
Check out this pumpkin bread recipe for another delicious fall treat that is toddler approved. Cheers!