Every afternoon I find myself looking for something…
A cup of coffee? A cookie? A nap?
I don’t know what it is but 2:30-3:00 pm is a tough time of day for me. I try my hardest to avoid that cup of coffee, because as good as it will taste, I will kick myself come 9:00 pm when I’m trying to relax for bed and my brain is going a million miles a minute thanks to the caffeine that seems to linger in my body. As for the cookie… well… most days I do have my Banana Oatmeal Cookies on hand, but they don’t always satisfy my craving.
Thank goodness Pinterest was invented. A while back I found a recipe for Energy Bites and they became a staple in my fridge. Then I got lazy and stopped making them.
Last week I was heading to over my friends house to help her take some photos and she told me to bring something to photograph for my blog as well. (As you can tell from most of my photos, I use my phone to take them. While I’m getting better at it, it’s not the same as using a DSLR.) As my brain started scrambling for something I could quickly “make & take” I remembered these little life savers.
Much to my dismay, the link I had on the old post no longer worked and while Pinterest has tons of these gems, I couldn’t find one that looked right. Thankfully I rarely clean out my junk drawer, so I dug through it, hoping to find the piece of paper I had scribbled the recipe on…and I did, but it was ripped, so I tried to fill in the gaps and came up with these, which were perfect to me.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
- 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup ground flax seeds
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate chips)
- 1/3 cup honey or agave nectar
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds (optional)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
DIRECTIONS:
- Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
- Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. (Mine were about 1″ in diameter.) Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week.
- Makes about 20-25 balls.
Don’t be afraid to have fun and experiment with these. Swap out the chocolate chips for some dried cranberries or raisins. Toast the coconut or add some chia seeds to the mix. Changing the type of nut-butter you use will change the flavor profile too!
*If you are doing the 21 Day Fix, you can use these as a yellow container treat. I would count 2 of them as a serving.*
Have you ever tried making Energy Bites? There are sooooooo many different versions of these out there, I would love to hear of variations you’ve tried and liked.
getfitwithnikki.com 
This is a little different than the recipe I make. I’m excited to try yours. Just need to get some oatmeal because I’m all out!
How do you usually make yours? I have so many different variations I want to try after talking to different people.
Pingback: Healthy Cookie Dough Dip - Get Fit With Nikki
Pingback: My 21 Day Fix Journey | Beginning Round 3