Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Who like's snacks?

I do! I do!

Snacks play an important roll in giving us a little energy boost when we need it.

If you've ever felt the afternoon blahs when you're lacking energy and contemplating a trip to the candy machine then this is for you. We all know the feeling right? Either you're at the office or going about your day, you're energy crashes and you're now looking for the nearest doughnut shop or what have you. The reason why you hit the afternoon wall is because you're blood glucose has taken a sharp dive. You're as "hangry" as a walrus and probably feel a bit like one too, ready to take it out on someone else.

You can avoid the dreaded afternoon crash by eating frequent mini meals throughout the day and making sure you get a good lunch that includes a combination veggies and/or whole grains and quality protein, so when 3 o'clock rolls around you're not falling asleep at your desk. Instead of reaching for that candy bar or doughnut, first reach for your water bottle and make sure you are well hydrated. Now it's time to make a healthy snacking choice. This part requires a bit of planning but it can be quite easy (and tasty)! It's also important to remember to pair your snack with some protein to keep you from getting hungry again too soon.

So what should you snack on that's healthy? Here are a few examples:

• A hand sized piece of fruit (like an apple or pear) with some nuts
• Veggies and hummus
• Ryvita crackers spread with nut butter
• Hard boiled eggs with some salsa and sliced bell peppers
• Low fat granola and yogurt

Then there are these little gems. I'm excited to share a great recipe with you today. Something else to throw into your snacking repertoire.

These are a great pick me up in the middle of the afternoon and a surprisingly energy packed pre-workout snack that can double as dessert.

A doughnut is tasty, but has no nutritional benefit. These power balls are just as tasty and will leave you feeling good about what you ate. Plus they look like little doughnuts! I swear these look just like the timbits we used to get from Tim Hortons when I was a kid.

Peanut Butter Energy Bites (makes 16 balls)

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Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup dried apricots
• 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
• 2 tbsp unpasturized honey or maple syrup 
• 1/4 cup vanilla sunwarrior protein powder
• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
• 2 tbsp coconut flakes

Method:

1. Place sunflower seeds and oats in a food processor and process until flour like. Now add the dried apricots and process again until crumbly.
2. Add remaining ingredients except for the coconut and process until everything is incorporated and the mixture is well combined. It should be slightly crumbly.
3. Scoop out tablespoons of the mixture with your hands and roll into balls.
4. Roll each ball in coconut to coat.
5. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to one week.

*You can also stash these in the freezer and they'll keep even longer.

(If you can keep your hands off them) ;)

This recipe has been shared at Amee's Fit and Fabulous Fridays.

Choc-a-lot chip cookies

I think it's about time I made something sweet don't you?

How about something stuffed to the brim with chocolate?

Let's think about this for a minute shall we? Large chunks of dark chocolate. Moist, soft, ooey-gooey tender goodness. I can hear fresh baked homemade cookies calling my name. Oh the aroma!

It might be surprising to learn that such an exceptionally decadent looking cookie can actually be healthy. Don't get me wrong, I'll be the first one to point out that a cookie is still a cookie, but if you're looking for a little something something and don't want to blow things out of proportion with a sugar overload, these little cookies will do the trick.

They can even be made vegan by using brown rice syrup or maple syrup instead of honey. And can be made gluten-free with the use of certified gluten-free oats.

The cookies are crying to be dunked in milk!

I always love finding recipes that have been cleaned up. It's not easy recreating something that tastes so good to start with already. I mean, how do you bake a cookie without using butter, eggs, processed sugar, and all-purpose flour?

Well after a few trials (some of which were complete fails) I found that by grinding oats, almonds, and buckwheat, and using coconut oil or sunflower oil I could pull together some pretty amazing cookies. . .That's how!

You know how most cookie recipes start out by telling you to grease a baking sheet, and half the time you know you don't have to because the cookies have so much butter in them that they're practically self-greasing? Well that's the best part about these guys is that they don't come out really greasy.

Yeah. Eew. Dangerously delicious, but not very friendly towards your waistline.

These chocolate chip cookies will satisfy any sweet tooth without setting you back 5 pounds and they aren't full of any weird chemicals, enriched flours, or unhealthy fats like those packaged store bought cookies are. Just loads and loads of chocolate! Hey, they aren't called Choc-a-lot Chip for nothing!

Choc-a-lot Chip Cookies (makes 16-18 cookies)

Adapted from veganricha.com

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp ground flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• pinch of sea salt
• 4 tbsp warm water
• 1/4 cup virgin coconut oil
• 4 tsp unpasteurized liquid honey or maple syrup
• 4 tsp unsulfured molasses
• 4 tbsp organic cane sugar
• 1 cup ground oats
• 1/2 cup ground raw buckwheat flour (ground from raw groats in a blender)
• 1/2 cup almond flour (ground almonds)
• A heaping 2/3 cup of dark chocolate chips

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 350*F and prepare line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, stir together flaxseed, ginger, nutmeg and sea salt. Add warm water and next four ingredients through to and including cane sugar, mixing well to combine (I find a rubber spatula works best). Let this sit for 2-5 minutes.
3. While the wet mixture rests, grind up your buckwheat groats and oats in separate batches using a coffee grinder or blender.
4. Add the flours and mix well into a ball of dough. Then, add the chocolate chips and mix to incorporate. 
5. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to chill the dough.
6. Scoop tbsp of the dough onto cookie sheets and give them a little pat to flatten them.
7. Bake for 12 - 14 minutes. Cool on a wire rack (if you can wait that long).

*When grinding any grains into flour I always use my coffee grinder, because I find it does the best job. Especially when I only need small batches. A 1/2 cup does just fine in it.

*You can use sunflower oil instead of coconut oil in case of allergies.

*These can be made gluten-free with the use of certified gluten-free oats.

 

I don't know what it is about the texture of these chocolate chip cookies but they are to die for. Maybe it's the combination of everything in them. You'll just have to test out a batch, see for yourself and report back. :)

Shared at Fit & Fabulous Fridays.