ENERGY BITES 101 (BACK BY POPULAR DEMAND)

i'M ALWAYS ASKED WHAT THE PERFECT 3PM PICK-ME-UP SNACK IS AND FRIENDS, THIS IS IT!

If you know me, you know that I love to cook and I can cook (without a recipe is preferred!) but I tend to make the same things over and over again because they just work for us. Automating some of our meals is key for this busy mom. Energy bites are one of our weekly staples so I make them in bulk and always have them on hand.

I primarily make these for my kids because I find that there are very few pre-packaged snacks on the shelves that actually fill them up without the side of effects of high amounts of sugar. For a mom of two active boys (almost 6 and 4), it's on me to follow my own advice for MY nutrition fueling the kiddos on  foods that balance their hunger, energy and cravings.

I don't know about you but if I don't get this right, my boys are in the kitchen constantly asking for something to eat. So, my motive when preparing their snacks is to to give them tons of filling fiber, protein, water with controlled amounts of sugar.

I came up with my energy bite recipe years ago and I've revamped it recently to add a bit more protein and a texture that's more "rollable". If you know you love them, make these in bulk. If not, start small, and when you're ready, go big with this full recipe.
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​BIG BATCH ENERGY BITES

Remember to cut in half or 1/4 if you are just trying this recipe out! This recipe makes about 5 dozen golf-ball sized energy bites.

INGREDIENTS:

Dry ingredients:
1 bag of quick-cooking oats (I use Bobs Red Mill Quick Cooking Rolled Oats)
1/2 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 c. ground flaxseed
1/2 c. protein powder (I use vanilla Vega Sport)
1 tbsp. cinnamon

*Potential additions/substitutions: chocolate chips, raisins, cocoa powder, vanilla, nutmeg, ground chia seed, 

Wet ingredients:
2, 16-oz containers of your favorite nut butter - preferably lower sugar (I use Sun Butter)
8-10 oz of local honey (If you're in MA, I use Boston Honey Company Raw Wildflower) 
4-8 oz. of unsweetened vanilla almond milk
*Check out notes in preparation for warning on milk!

*Potential additions/substitutions: chocolate chips, raisins, cocoa powder, vanilla, nutmeg, ground chia seed, 

PREPARATION:
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Combining it all:
Using a large mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients first. Combine dry ingredients and then add wet ingredients with the exception of the almond milk. Note that this is a bit of a challenge to mix up so try to be patient! I use a hard spatula to fold all the ingredients together and make sure I'm getting all the dry ingredients mixed into the honey and nut butter. So, you'll continue scooping up ingredients from the bottom and folding them into the mix until the loose oats are mixed in. Once everything is evenly mixed, add almond milk slowly in only to wet the mixture enough and let it finish combining and be the right consistency for rolling. You could also use melted and cooled coconut oil with this step. Try not to overdo the milk, this is just to allow for rolling into bites. Too much can make the bites a bit chewy.

Rolling into bites:
Once you have a mix that you're ready to roll, wet your hands with water to avoid piling up of the honey and nut butter on your hands. I like to roll into a golf-ball size so each "bite" is about 3-5 actual bites. This recipe makes about 5 dozen energy bites.

Place energy bites in a Tupperware container and store in the fridge and/or freezer (can be eaten straight from the freezer). 

Note: I don't have nutritional info on this but note your portions. As nut butter is a high-calorie fat and can tend to be overeaten, I use one for me for a small snack but give two to the kids for a heftier snack to hold them over until their next meal.

Enjoy and be sure to comment to let me know how you like this!

​xo-Jess
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