Once Labor Day is over, the pace of life picks up: It’s back to school for the kids; it’s back-to-school shopping for the parents; there’s more traffic, longer lines at the stores.
Time for a shortcut – and a nutritious energy boost.
Energy bites, adapted from allrecipes.com, are just the trick. They take minutes to make and are so tasty it’s easy to forget how healthy they are.
Ingredients? Peanut butter, oatmeal, chocolate chips, flaxseed meal, honey and vanilla. My granddaughter calls these “cookies,” and they really are like a cookie, only no flour, no butter and most importantly, no BAKING.
Just mix up the ingredients, let them chill in the fridge for a bit and then roll into balls. (Tip: For a fun time with your little ‘uns, ask them to “help” you make energy bites. They love it!)
Recommended size for each ball is one-inch in diameter. Whenever I roll these by hand, I always end up with fewer than the predicted 20 servings. So this time I used a small (one-inch) cookie scoop and ended up with 30 bites! I do like that better!
Note: For calorie counting purposes I use 20 as the number. Just know that the yield may vary drastically according to how generously the balls are made.
Easy-peasy!
These are great for a mid-afternoon snack. Or, grab a couple for a quick breakfast. It’s the ultimate grab-and-go goody.
No Bake Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ cup chocolate chips I use mini chips
- ½ cup ground flaxseed
- ½ cup peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 TB chia seeds optional
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Cover and chill dough in the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
- Remove dough from refrigerator, roll or scoop into approximately one inch balls.
- Store refrigerated in an airtight container for up to one week.
Nutrition
Goes great with Frozen Banana Bites!
Did you know? Unenriched oatmeal, cooked by boiling or microwave, is 84% water, and contains 12% carbohydrates, including 2% dietary fiber and 2% each of protein and fat. In a 100 gram amount, cooked oatmeal provides 71 calories and contains 29% of the Daily Value(DV) for manganese and moderate content of phosphorus and zinc (11% DV each), with no other micronutrients in significant content.
Oatmeal and other oat products were the subject of a 1997 ruling by the Food and Drug Administration that consuming oat bran or whole rolled oats can lower the risk of heart disease when combined with a low-fat diet via the effect of oat beta-glucan to reduce levels of blood cholesterol. (source: Wikipedia)
These look really tasty, Sula! I’m used to energy bars that look like bird seed. Thank you for making a delicious energy snack!
They really ARE delicious – give them a try!