My friend, Erica Jamieson, co-founder & Editor-at-Large, is a late-blooming fitness enthusiast who conjured up the notion for Fiftiness.com during a long walk after a meeting with a career coach. Erica and I met 18 years ago on the first day of pre-school and have been friends ever since. Erica is an inspiration in so many ways, and with the birth of her website and the beginnings of my new found career and passion, we have more in common now than when we did years ago.
Her website is a terrific platform for me to share my health and lifestyle expertise. Recently, I published an article about one of my favorite go-to healthy, sweet snacks, Healthy Bites.
Okay, so healthy bites will never be Oreos! But these delicious no bake, high energy bites make a great snack that might possibly convert (most of) your Oreo eating family and friends. I was so tired of scanning the shelves at the grocery store for healthy snacks without all the extra added sugar and preservatives that I was thrilled when I found this recipe on the website Gimme Some Oven.
I timed the trial run of my first batch of no-bake treats for my kids after school snack. They took one look and the whining began! “Mom, can’t we have Oreos like every other kid” “We are kids, we deserve Oreos!”
I went to my usual refrain in situations where my healthy snacks were met with anything less than enthusiasm: try them, if you don’t like them you don’t have to eat them but how will you know if you don’t try them? I got them to give them a go. Their faces gave them away. And the seconds and thirds they reached for and ate! Of course, neither of them admitted to much. I got a noncommittal, “Not bad, not oreos, but not bad, Mom.”
That’s how it goes in my house.
So, in the spirit of my family, and to provide real choices in the scaling back of sugar and preservatives, won’t you try some? And the beautiful thing is they take 10 minutes to make and there is no baking involved. Although you have to calculate extra time for the mixture to chill, enjoy!
Healthy Bites/No-Bake Energy Bites
PREP TIME: 10 MINS | COOK TIME: 10 MINS | TOTAL TIME: 10 MINS
INGREDIENTS:
1 cup (dry) gluten free oats
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
1/2 cup almond butter
1/2 cup ground flax seeds
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or vegan chocolate chips)
1/3 cup honey
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.
Notes from the gimmesomeoven.com website:
Remember to provide extra time for chilling. The website recommends spreading the mixture out on a baking sheet covered with plastic wrap before refrigerating.
These are not as listed above gluten free. If you need to make them gluten free be sure to use certified gluten-free ingredients.
This delicious recipe was modified from the original found on GIMME SOME OVEN with the substitution of Almond Butter for Peanut Butter.
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