Quick and easy snack bites
Hi friends! How’s the day going? Hope you’re enjoying the morning. Don’t forget to get your lotus tank; only a few days left to order! The orders are rolling in and I can’t wait to see pics of everyone rocking this gorgeous tank for an awesome cause.
After the midwife appointment yesterday, Liv and I went to Whole Foods for some essentials.
I also grabbed this new-to-me Suja flavor: Reef! It was similar to Glow (which is my favorite), but with lemon and ginger instead of mint, so it had more of a bite to it.
(Still searching for the undereye bag filter. If you find it, lemme know. haha)
Speaking of new things, I was excited to try out this Decadent Blend from Spectrum (a gift from my Fair Trade friends, which means a giveaway is on the way!). It’s ground flax and chia, with cocoa and coconut.
Basically, they took a good thing (healthy fats) and made it even better (adding chocolate). Chocolate just makes everything better.
Date and Nut Energy Bites
I decided to test out the mix in some simple date and nut energy bites. Dates are one of my favorite recipe additions to add a bit of sweetness and nutrient boost. They’re easily digested, contain vitamins A and K (in addition to other nutrients and minerals, like magnesium and iron), can protect cells and assist in heart health. They’re also incredibly sweet; nature’s candy at its finest. They definitely don’t look the most appetizing -you should have seen the disdain on Liv’s face the first time I asked her to try one- but once you get over their shriveled brown appearance, they’re pretty delicious.
My very favorite dates are the Khadrawi dates they have at the co-op. The inner portion is like honey. Dates are supposed to be beneficial to pregnant women, so I’ve been trying to eat at least a few each day.
I’m a huge fan of snack bites (<— I’m trying to stop calling them balls. Because balls.), as they’re an easy way to get in a quick healthy snack. They’re portable, last a while (at least a week in the fridge), and you can make them in advance to enjoy throughout the week. Also, anything goes! Add some dry ingredients, some wet, some sweetness, roll into a ball, and boom. Snack complete.
Here’s the recipe for this one!
(Livi kindly helped me out by taking a bite out of that one for the photo)
Date and Nut Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw almonds
- 1/4 cup hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup Spectrum Decadent blend (If you don’t have it, no worries. Try 1 tablespoon each of flax, chia, coconut and cocoa powder)
- 1/4 cup pitted dates, packed
- 2 heaping tablespoons of nut butter (a thinner texture tends to work better)
- 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup (or more as needed for texture)
Instructions
- Pulse in the food processor until a dough forms.
- Roll into balls.
- Store in the fridge.
- Enjoy!
And some more of my favorite ball/bite recipes:
Cranberry orange and cashew butter and jelly
Have a wonderful day, friends!
xo
G
29 Comments
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YUMMY snacks:)
These sound delicious! My dad can’t have sugar so I’ve used dates many times to create delicious desserts. I’ve made energy bites before using peanut butter as the base so I’m excited to try these!
that’s sweet that you make treats for him! let me know what you think if you give them a try 🙂
What’s the color on your nails? Not related to this post but still important! 😉
critical details! it’s the sally hansen gel polish (i’m obsessed) in all chalked up
That blend looks like it needs to be in my pantry!
yes! i can’t wait to try it on oats tomorrow
These sound good!!! I’m a fan of the peanut butter cup amazeballs! I’m always looking for quick, easy snacks to grab and go.
let me know if you give them a try! 🙂
What did you think of those macarons from Whole Foods (La Jolla right?)? They say they get them from a local bakery, but I thought they were awful! So disappointing!
i love the ones from whole foods!! they’re amazing
I love all things ginger so I must try this juice!
Mmm those macarons look fabulous!
I love energy bites they are the best thing ever and so portable! Thanks for sharing this recipe xo C
That blend sounds awesome!
Loving all the snack ideas! Have you tried the Suja Lemon Love flavor? It’s my favorite!
Whenever I made a new snack bite recipe I can never decide whether to call them bites or balls. 🙂 These look delish.
yes!! i love that one too! but then i’m like “this is $8 and i could make it at home.” it tastes better when they make it, though 😉
I love putting dates in recipes like ‘balls and bites’ but I have a hard time eating them on their own because I think they look like cockroaches (so weird!)!!!
I have that blend… it’s yum! I love sprinkling it on smoothie bowls. I need to give this recipe a try! I don’t have hemp seeds on hand. Do you think I could use 1/2 cup of the blend? Or can you suggest another substitution?
yeah i think you could use 1/2 cup! or another type of ground seeds/nut. cashews would be awesome in these too!
Oh yay! I’m so glad you posted this. I’m in med school and just started rotations at the hospital a few weeks ago. We have to go in super early, so I’m having to swap my early morning workouts for right-after-work workouts, but definitely need a snack on the way to the gym. I bought dates on a whim the other day at TJ’s b/c I thought I remembered you using them for energy balls (balls forever; no bites! lol), but then I couldn’t find any recipes that used them (of course). Can’t wait to try these!
good luck!! I’m pre-med right now & cannot wait for med school (if?), but i’m also so nervous for the crazy schedule!! I’ve heard about 20 hour days so kudos to you for keep up the workouts!
and for dates, you can just eat them plain/as is; with a handful of almonds; use as you would any dried fruit; or make a recipe like this with any add ins!
GOOD LUCK with everything! oh and where are you going to school? 🙂
Thanks so much for the encouragement! I go to the University of South Carolina. I’ll be honest, I’ve only been making it to the gym 2x/week so far, but I figure some is better than none, and maybe once I get more used to the schedule I can increase that. It certainly helps to not be sitting completely sedentary in a library 20 hours a day like the first 2 years! And yes, prior to this recipe, I’d been just slathering a tbsp of almond butter on top of 2 dates and eating them as is (still pretty delicious!) Feel free to shoot me an email if you have any school questions!
haha balls forever 🙂
hope you love them, and best of luck to you with rotations and the intense schedule!
Thanks so much! I ended up making the pumpkin amazeballs this week (which don’t even have dates in them lol) and they are DELICIOUS!
macaroons + green juice= balanced meal 🙂
amen to that 🙂
Yum’
Yum