Do you ever have those moments when you’re scowling your pantry for a quick, healthy snack but there is literally nothing besides a few cashews or your kid’s gummy snacks? Well, this is where we cue our Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Energy Bites! This recipe is so easy, delicious and best of all you don’t even have to turn on your oven. We designed this recipe to deliver complex carbohydrates, healthy fats and some protein. Plus, it is free of refined sugar!
The base of these amazing energy bites is oats. We love using them since they are naturally gluten-free and a good source of fiber, manganese, phosphorous, magnesium and copper. Oats are also naturally rich in antioxidants, most notably Avenanthramides – which has been shown to reduce blood pressure. Since oats contain the soluble fiber, Beta-glucan, they can stabilize blood sugar and reduce LDL and total cholesterol.
By adding in healthy fats with the coconut oil and almond butter you create a snack that will keep you feeling full and satisfied for a while. And of course, we topped it off with some dark chocolate for its health benefits and well because who doesn’t love chocolate?
These energy bites are the perfect grab and go snack to eat between classes or meetings. They even make a great pre-workout snack! So mix yourself up a batch to keep on hand so you’re never in a snack-rut again!
Ingredients:
3/4 cup Gluten Free Oat Flour (you can make your own by using a food processor and grinding up gluten-free oats – seen in the picture above)
1 cup Pitted Dates that have been soaked and drained
2 T Almond Butter (we used our favorite NatuAlmond by Georgia Grinders)
1 scoop (@ 22 grams) Vanilla Vegan Protein Powder (we used Perfect Fit)
1 T melted coconut oil
1.24 ounces (34 grams) 72% or higher Dark Chocolate
Shredded coconut (optional)
Instructions:
1.) If you want to make oat flour, place the uncooked oats in a food processor and pulse until ground finely and measure out 3/4 cup and set aside.
2.) Take the drained dates and put them in the food processor. Pulse until they almost form a ball.
3.) Add the oat flour back in along with the rest of the ingredients except the chocolate. Pulse until everything is processed and incorporated. Then add the chocolate and repeat until the chocolate is in tiny bites. This will look like it is too dry to roll into balls but don’t worry, it’s not.
4.) Roll into 12 small balls about 1-inch in diameter. Now is the time to roll in coconut if you’d like. You can eat these right away or place them in the refrigerator to firm up. We store these in an airtight container in the refrigerator for a week or freeze them but they never last that long in our house. Enjoy!
