Sweet Corn Balls

Serves 8 (3 balls per person)

What You Need:

2 15 ounce cans of organic cannellini beans; rinse with water and let drain
20 ounce. frozen organic sweet corn kernels
5 teaspoon coriander
2 teaspoon cumin
3 teaspoon maple
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
2 large plain rice cakes, finely crushed

How-To:

Steam corn on the stove for about 10 minutes, drain and cool while you gather and prepare the rest of the ingredients. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 450 degrees (or set your broiler). Add all of the ingredients except for the crushed rice cakes into a large bowl.

Mash the corn and bean mixture with a fork or pestle and mortar until the mixture becomes pasty. Place both rice cakes in a large plastic bag and crush them into breadcrumb-like pieces. I’d recommend using a meat mallet or a similar kitchen tool to crush the cakes. Fold the crushed rice cakes into the mixture so that the mixture becomes more moldable.

Use an ice cream scooper to create balls and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Put the sweet corn balls in the oven for about 15 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. Flip and repeat on the other side.

Nutritional Benefits:

Wheat Free, Dairy Free, No Added Sugar

Corn: Yellow corn is especially high in the antioxidant carotenoid, lutein. The lutein in yellow corn and yellow corn products can protect against heart disease and macular degeneration, a condition of the eye that typically occurs in old age. Corn is also a good source of vitamin C as well as the bone-supporting mineral manganese.

Cannellini Beans: These beans are low-fat, high in fiber and provide a high quality of magnesium, fiber, iron and folate. Interestingly, cannellini beans have twice as much iron as beef! These white beans are also loaded with thiamine which is essential for high mental performance. Thiamine is required for a neurotransmitter, acetylcholine, which improves reaction time.

Nutritional Yeast Flakes: a great ingredient for vegetarians and vegans to keep on hand as it is plant-based protein that is naturally low in fat and contains no sodium. In fact, one ounce of nutritional yeast contains 14 grams of protein and 79 calories. Nutritional yeast is also a good source of fiber, with more than seven grams per ounce. Diets high in fiber can assist in lowering cholesterol, reduce the risk of colon disease and protect against high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes.