I can't cook. That's not self-deprecation, that's fact. I once tried to bake those frozen shrimp poppers in the oven and the fire department wound up at my house (no joke). I'm just not good with kitchen appliances and anything requiring more than a fourth grade math education.
I saw this recipe for No-Bake Energy Bites on my Pinterest feed and they looked so good that I had to at least attempt a batch for myself, despite my less than stellar kitchen history. The verdict? Success!!
The recipe I followed originated from Gimme Some Oven - awesome blog! Next time you're looking for recipe ideas, check her stuff out. I deviated from her recipe just a bit, so I'll tell you exactly what I did.
Now to the fun part...
Ingredients:
- (1) cup (dry) oatmeal
- (1/2) cup peanut butter (I used creamy, not chunky, but I'm sure it doesn't really matter)
- (1/3) cup honey
- (1) cup coconut flakes
- (1/2) cup ground flaxseed
- (1/2) cup mini chocolate chips
- (1) tsp vanilla extract
Mix everything above in a medium bowl until thoroughly incorporated. Let mixture chill in the refrigerator for half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls and enjoy! Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to one week.
Makes 20-25 balls (a little less for me since I ate some of the mixture as I was rolling them out...oops).
For those of you trying to watch your calorie intake like me, the best educated guess I could find was roughly 130 calories per ball. For how awesome these little guys taste, the calories are so worth it! They're like little cookies in my opinion and between the peanut butter, oatmeal and flax seed, they pack a healthy "pick-me-up" punch.
The hardest part of this whole process for me was finding the flaxseed. I do most of my shopping at box stores (Walmart, Meijer, etc.), but they didn't seem to have any in stock (in my locations at least). My local mall has a GNC store though, so I popped in there and quickly found what I needed. You'll probably have better luck finding flaxseed in a health-food location than any box store - just an FYI if you need to plan a special trip to get the ingredients.
So all in all, I think I've found my new go-to snack when I'm craving something sweet. They're super easy to make (seriously, if I can do it I promise that you can do it too), and can be stored for a week of yummy snacking. Win!
I'm going to take them into the office tomorrow and let my fellow health-nut coworkers try them too. I'll be sure to share their reviews. :)
0 comments:
Post a Comment