Happy Meatless Monday!
I recently took a poll on Instagram as to what kinds of recipes you wanted to see on the blog this upcoming fall/winter season. It was pretty unanimous- more healthy snacks! Stay tuned for more snacks, hearty meals, crock pot recipes & of course a baked good here or there!
Now- I know you heard me say I’m not ready for fall yet. I could totally appreciate a few more weeks of sunshine & pool time. BUT- I didn’t say I wasn’t ready for fall flavors!! Confession, I’m a total basic bitch and love pumpkin flavored anything. Pumpkin Spice Lattes (PSL for short), pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie- you name it. I will try pumpkin flavored anything.
I recently went to an event where energy bites were served afterwards & all I kept thinking was that these would taste great with some pumpkin mixed in! So I created these pumpkin & peanut butter energy bites. Could they be a bit healthier & use another nut butter besides peanut butter? Sure. But it’s all I had in my pantry at the time. You could also swap out the chocolate chips for Medjool dates (but again just didn’t have those on hand & chocolate is just wayyyy better).
Also, I added chia seeds & flax seeds to these bites for extra nutrients. In the baking aisle at the grocery store, I found packets of chia & flax seeds mixed together. Totally easy to use when a recipe calls for both. Check out packets here, total game changer. These would be perfect for smoothies as well.
I love that you can make so many variations of energy balls. I will definitely be experimenting with this & will post more combinations as I test them. Hands down, this is an easy no-bake snack that you can make every week! This recipe is super flexible & you can swap out a lot of the ingredients if need be. If you are craving something sweet, this is a great healthy alternative. You get to squash that craving but don’t have all the calorie intake as you would a typical dessert. And they keep you full!
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- ⅔ cup coconut flakes, unsweetened
- ¼ cup peanut butter
- ¼ cup pumpkin purée
- 1 pack Carrington Flax Chia packer or 1 tbsp. Chia seeds and 1 tbsp. Flax seeds
- ⅓ cup honey or agave nectar
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- Mix all the ingredients together in a ball. Cover & chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- Once chilled, roll into balls (about 1 inch in diameter).
- Store in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up one week,
