Thursday, July 21, 2011

YUMMY Healthy No-Bake Energy Bites - Our new favorite snack!

I found this recipe on http://fooddoodles.com and tried it last night.  These are super yummy, and while not low calorie, they are "good fats" and definitely satisfied my sweet tooth after dinner!  My kiddos, my husband and I all LOVE them and I'm sure they will now be a staple in our house!  I warn you to roll them into small balls, as my 4 year old had a "bite" of his and then proceeded to stuff the entire thing in his mouth.  :)

Make sure you use non-transfat peanut butter or another nut butter.  If you're not sure, look at the ingredient label of your peanut butter - should only say peanuts, salt, oil (maybe a small amount of added sugar).  The fewer ingredients the better!  Make sure there is NO vegetable shortening. 

Lastly, I suggest making a double batch of this if you want it to last longer than a day!


Energy Bites makes approximately 2 dozen depending on size

  • 1/2 C nut butter(almond butter, peanut butter, sunflower seed butter or any other nut or seed butter.)
  • 1/3 C honey
  • 1 C old fashioned rolled oats
  • 1 C shredded unsweetened coconut (you can substitute any dry ingredients for this, wheat bran or germ, oat bran, some ground flax seed (I wouldn’t recommending using an entire cup!), any kind of ground nuts or seeds.  For a cookie dough type bite try adding a few tablespoon of your favorite whole grain flour)
  • 2 tsp vanilla
  • pinch of sea salt if using a natural nut butter with no added salt
  • 1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combinations (optional - I added a few shakes of cinnamon)
  • 1/2 C other addins (any kind of whole or roughly chopped nuts or seeds, dried fruit, good quality chocolate chips, etc)
In a large bowl add the nut butter, honey or other sweetener, vanilla and salt if needed.  If all your ingredients are room temperature you should be able to stir to combine.  If this is difficult you can warm in the microwave for a few seconds or even place the bowl in an inch or two hot water for a few minutes to soften everything.

Once this is combined add the remaining ingredients.
Mix well.  Once it’s all combined place in the fridge for about 30 minutes.  Then remove from the fridge, scoop out some dough and roll into a ball.  I find it’s much easier, and works better to squeeze the handful together to compact it and then roll it into a ball.

If yours are too sticky you can considering adding more dry ingredients into them or rolling them in something like ground nuts, coconut, etc so they aren’t as sticky.  Place the balls in an airtight container either in the fridge or freezer for quick and easy snacks.  SO YUMMY!

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