{recipe} no bake energy bites

It’s Thanksgiving week and the tis’ (the beginning of) the season for celebrations with family, social gatherings and plenty of food. Probably everyone is thinking of all the delicious food they will be eating on Thursday for Thanksgiving.

I love to indulge and enjoy every traditional food during the holidays, but when it is a normal work day, I pretty much eat the same things over and over to keep it simple and healthy. I have a few meals in rotation but I do like to experiment with different healthier treats to keep me from devouring a chocolate bar every afternoon when I crave sweets.

I have my favorite cinnamon tea that I drink all year long, but I especially love it during fall (so excited when I saw that Costco started carrying it too). I like to drink my tea and eat this energy bites at the same time. It’s sweet enough that it satisfy my cravings for sweets (without having to open my candy stash, which are reserved for really stressful days).

I will make another batch soon and keep it in the freezer for some healthy snacking in between all the holiday festivities.

No Bake Energy Bites

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup (dry) oatmeal (I used old-fashioned oats)
• 2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup ground flax seed
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tablespoon chia seeds
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1. Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for half an hour.
2. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to 1 week. I kept mine in a ziplock bag.

Notes for next time: use unsweetened coconut flakes, to lessen the sweetness. The honey acts as a binder, so I have to keep that in the recipe.

Recipe adapted from Gimme Some Oven