Energy Bites - Fun with Food Friday

 
Welcome to this week's Fun with Food Friday! (ALERT: Read to the bottom for extra bonus entries opportunity!)

This delicious recipe comes from reader Lauren Kane-Sample!

ENERGY BITES

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup nut butter (almond, peanut, sunflower seed or another other nut/seed butter)
• 1/3 cup honey or other liquid sweetener (be careful of thinner sweeteners as they might not hold together as well.)
• 1 cup old fashioned rolled oats (you can toast for a nuttier flavor at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes)
• 1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut (you can substitute any dry ingredient for this: wheat bran or germ, oat bran, ground flax seed, (I wouldn't recommend using an entire cup of flax seed,) any ground nuts or seeds. For a cookie dough type bite, try adding a few tablespoons of your favorite whole grain flour.)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1-2 tsp your favorite spices or spice combos (optional: I skipped this)
• pinch of sea salt if needed
• 1/2 cup other add-ins (any whole or roughly chopped nuts/seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chips, etc.)

Directions from Lauren:

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.

In this case I used almond butter and for my addins I used equal parts sesame seeds, poppy seeds and mini chocolate chips.  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.

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I started by making some dairy-free chocolate chips with coconut oil. I'll have to write a review on that recipe sometime. They were good, but very dark chocolate. 

And coming from me, that's saying something, 'cause I like my chocolate dark.

Anyway, they worked well in this recipe, so I was happy, and my poor chocolate-deprived daughter was very happy.

I was pretty in-exact in my measurements, mostly because I hate trying to measure things like peanut butter.

I used about half almond butter and half peanut butter. I think I'd prefer them with 100% almond butter, but I didn't have much, so I combined them.

 

These are very similar to a recipe I have for "Power Balls" from a friend, (the mother of 7 boys that just had their first girl!)

They are a great snack to have in the freezer. Perfect for when I'm pregnant and/or nursing, and a healthy and deceivingly cookie-like option for my toddler.

I rolled most of them in a unsweetened coconut/sesame seed mixture and left some of them plain so as not to be so messy for Katie to eat.

This pan is sitting in my freezer now, and when I get around to it, I'll put them in a container back in the freezer for easy access!

Thanks, Lauren, for this healthy and delicious snack!

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See what Michelle at The Not-So-Secret Confessions of a First Second Time Mom has cooked up this week!
Please check my archives for more delicious recipes!

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Just send the recipe(s) to mamachocolateblog@gmail.com and add the entries into the appropriate box on the giveaway entry form.