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Welcome to Riches to Rags by Dori. This is a place where I share a little bit of everything. My experiences, the good the bad and the ugly. Life isn't easy but worth living and my hope is that we can get through it together.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

No Bake Energy Bites





No-Bake Energy Bites


OK, my last post was a little bit on the "Would you like to have a heart attack today list" so I thought I would balance it out (guilty conscience I guess) and post these good for you No-Bake Energy Bites. I feel it is my duty to share these great recipes when I find them (especially when I lead you to the dark side on some of my others)! So here is to healthier eating. For now. 

I am excited at the fact that my kids will love these and can eat a good breakfast on the go snack or a quick snack after school. I love anything that is bite size. They are easy to eat, less mess and fun to make. 

So here you go. These were found on the wonderful blog Gimme Some Oven. How cute it that name? Please take a look at their site. Thanks to them I might live a few extra years. 




Ingredients

·         1 cup (dry) oatmeal (old-fashioned oats)
·         1 cup toasted coconut flakes
·         1/2 cup chocolate chips
·         1/2 cup peanut butter
·         1/2 cup ground flax seed
·         1/3 cup honey
·         1 tsp. vanilla

Method:
Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed.  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.
Ali's Tip - From Gimme Some Oven


Substitution ideas can abound for just about any of these ingredients!  Feel free to substitute in your favorite nut butter (almond butter, sunflower seed butter, etc.) for the peanut butter.  And you could also add in some wheat germ in place of some or all of the flax seed.  I would caution, though, against substituting agave nectar for the honey, as the honey’s thickness helps hold things together. 
The joy of these bites being “no bakes” is that this recipe is super flexible.  If you end up needing to omit one of the dry ingredients (such as coconut or flax), just add in some extra of whatever other dry ingredient is remaining (for example, the oats).  If you feel like your energy bites are too dry, just add in extra honey or peanut butter.
Some other fun substitutions for the chocolate chips (or an addition to them) could include:
·         chopped dried fruit (apricots, dates, raisins, etc.)
·         dried berries (cranberries, cherries, etc.)
·         chopped almonds, pecans, or sunflower seeds
·         other chips (butterscotch, dark chocolate, milk chocolate, etc.)

There is some good info on her site in the comments where people have substituted to make gluten free and even more healthier options. 


There, now I don't feel so guilty. I would love to hear what variations you do on this recipe if any.


Hope you enjoy this wonderful recipe. Thanks for stopping by!

14 comments :

  1. I've been making these for a couple months now...my whole family loves them. I quadruple the batch and they still don't last 3 days! (granted, I have a family of 6) We like chunky peanut butter. The original recipe is so good I haven't wanted to try other variations. :)

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  2. Love this! I used dried carnberrys and pumpkin seeds insted of the chips.... but i may be bad next time and sub some of the peanut butter with Nutella!

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  3. These were so delish! Any idea how many calories in each???

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    1. A good site to use to determine how many calories are in a recipe is:

      http://caloriecount.about.com/cc/recipe_analysis.php

      I put in the ingredients and used 20 as the number of servings and the result was:

      Nutrition Facts
      Serving Size 28 g

      Amount Per Serving
      Calories 129
      Calories from Fat 70
      Total Fat 7.8g
      Saturated Fat 2.9g
      Total Carbohydrates 12.9g
      Dietary Fiber 2.4g
      Sugars 7.8g
      Protein 3.3g

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    2. oh no, I have been eating 3 for a evening snake, guess i didnt think they would be so high, but they are soooo good

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    3. Thanks for sharing the CalorieCount site! That's Awesome!!

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  4. Hi Dori, great recipe! I hope you don't mind, but I shared it on my blog. I posted a link to your blog and let people know where I found it. Thank you so much for sharing!

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  5. Does it matter if I use quick-cook Oats?

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  6. These look good and easy to make. Are they very sticky and messy to eat? Have anyone tried using natural PB in these? How did that go?
    Thanks for the recipe, will have to try it.

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  7. I followed the recipe... using Skippy Natural Peanut butter and they are Delicious!! Kids and hubby loved them. I couldn't get them in nice balls, more of a egg shape (I just gave them a big squeeze in my hand) but I suppose a little more honey would have helped. I'm not one who cares about the looks tho. did I say yet, These things are Delicious!!!

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  8. Just made them today and I think they are great! I used Agave and just a small amount, maybe 1 tsp of honey. I calculated they are aprox. 3 Weight Watchers points. Not bad for a quick treat! :)

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  9. Just made these today, used Craisins instead of chocate chips (because I didn't have any) any they turned out amazing! Even my hubby likes them and he's pickier about food than the kids!

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  10. I made these last night for my church small group. Everyone loved them, but I accidentally left a few on the counter all night. Will it make you sick to eat unrefrigerated flaxseed?

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  11. Oh my goodness! I just made these, literally just sat them in the fridge. I was eating the mixture and it was superb!

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