no-bake energy bites
February 5th, 2012
Last month I hopped out for Breckenridge for a weekend, to go skiing and catch up with my good friend Courtney. For years, she has been one of my favorite crafty/cooking friends. So when she mentioned that she brought along some yummy “energy bites” for us to take on the slopes, I was intrigued.
Upon first glance in the fridge, I admit I commented they kind of looked like meatballs. :) But after one delicious bite, I realized they were basically a healthy version of my favorite no bake cookies!! I’m not kidding. For any of you who have ever loved no bakes, these little guys taste amazingly similar, but without the tons of butter and lots of other fun healthy ingredients thrown in. And they’re perfect for breakfast, snacks, or even as we all agreed — dessert!
All of our friends totally loved taking these little guys along on the slopes. And then I of course immediately came home and made a batch, and have been keeping them in the fridge for snacks and breakfasts-on-the-run ever since. Such a great recipe. Thank you, Courtney!
No-Bake Energy Bites Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
- 1 cup toasted coconut flakes
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup ground flaxseed or wheat germ
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp. vanilla
Method:
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. 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.
Ali’s Tip:
Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients! Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter. And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flaxseed. I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together.
Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:
- chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
- dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
- chopped almonds, pecans, walnuts, or sunflower seeds
- other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, white chocolate, M&Ms, etc.)
- other grains (different kinds of oatmeal, rice cereal, etc.)
Source: Slightly adapted from Smashed Peas & Carrots.
Courtney & I on the slopes!
I love getting recipes on the web. Just wish more had the calories and nutritional information. Thanks for a great recipe.
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Vonda Reply:
May 12th, 2012 at 6:14 pm
you can go here http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp put in the recipe informaton and it will give you nutrional value
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Jennie Reply:
May 12th, 2012 at 7:07 pm
@Mendy – you can add all the ingrediants into the “my recipes” on myfitnesspal.com and it will give you the calories per serving with nurtitional information.
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These are absolutely delicious….thank you!!
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Thank you so much for this recipe! I now make a batch of these every week. Two of these, a boiled egg, and coffee are the perfect hectic morning breakfast. So simple yet so delicious.
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Wow! Thanks for a delicious sounding recipe. I can hardly wait to make them!!
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do you know what the calorie, sugar, sodium amount is?
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For some reason mine will not stay together! Although it’s super yummy even with a spoon!
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Absolutely loved this! I did change it a bit though. I used PB2 instead of peanut butter and I used agave instead of honey. I didn’t reconstitute the peanut butter so I melted the chocolate and the agave together. The texture was great and they stayed together no problem. Also I used carob chips. : )
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Love this, I would add a scoop or 2 of my protein powder.
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This recipe rocks….love them….
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This is great, Thanks. My kids all have gluten and corn issues and they can have this. Wonderful.
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Can you substitute for the coconut? or just leave it out? I am allergic.
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Errors to avoid (oops!):
Cool the coconut before putting it in… it melts the chocolate.
Don’t use the hot spoon from toasting the coconut… it melts the chocolate.
Sincerely,
Amateur No-Baker
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I used extra oats and slivered almonds in place of the coconut and instead of honey used a little light Caro syrup and some agave nectar. They came out delicious…my 7 year old loves them!! Will definitely make these again and again. So easy!
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These are the BOMB! I made these almond every week and am bringing them in to work tonight to share with the other nurses :-) I like to add sunflower seeds, walnuts, chia seeds, chocolate chips, and raisins and it tastes just like cookie dough! Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
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