Sometimes you want to change-up your snack by making your own grab-n-go fruit & nut bars or the very popular bite size balls. Since store brought fruit & nut bars (such as Larabars, Kind Bars, Rxbars) contain only whole ingredients that you can find in your local grocery store (or mostly likely in your kitchen) and contain approximately 3-10 ingredients, why not experiment making your own! Luckily, they won’t taste bad when the main ingredients are dried fruit and nuts! How bad could they be?

Some recipes call for a food processor. You don’t need a fancy expensive food processor. I still use the mini cuisnart for $34, which is all you need to make your energy bites.

Recently, I have been adding new ingredients to my basic energy bite recipes and no new ingredient has made a bad tasting snack. Since the east coast hasn’t seen much sunshine the past 2 weeks, I thought I would share a few recipes with pops of Spring flavors and colors!

Strawberry Cream Cashew Cookie Bites

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Key Lime Coconut Energy Bites Key-Lime

Raw Vegan Coconut Beetroot Balls

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I can’t wait to show you the version of these beetroot balls I made this week! Stay tuned for my post on “The Benefits of Beets”! 

Carrot No Bake Energy Bites

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Lemon Pie Energy Bites

Easy-No-Bake-Energy-Bites-that-taste-like-Lemon-Bars-SO-so-good

My Go-To Basic Energy Bite Recipes

My 2 favorite go-to basic recipes are the trail mix caffeine bites and the classic fudgie baby bites. I have made these too many times to count on my hands for a pre workout snacks, fuel on a long training run, and post run recovery snack.  You can make the basic recipes below or have fun in the kitchen adding various ingredients such as the freeze-dried strawberries, lime juice/zest, beets, lemon juice/zest or carrots mentioned in the yummy examples above OR explore your pantry and add 1+ ingredients such as peppermint oil, matcha powder, ground ginger, ground cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa powder, cocoa nibs, protein powders, chia seeds, flaxseed, hemp seeds, salt, and dried fruit).

Trail Mix Caffeine Bites
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Servings
16
Servings
16
Trail Mix Caffeine Bites
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Print Recipe
Servings
16
Servings
16
Ingredients
  • 1 cup Rolled Oats
  • 1/2 cup Peanut Butter Substitutes: almond, cashew butter, sunflower seed butter
  • 1/2 cup Ground Flaxseed
  • 1/3 cup Honey Substitutes: agave nectar, clover honey
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Tbsp Ground Coffee Beans or Instant Coffee
  • 1/3 cup Dried Tart Cherries Substitutes: any other dried fruit of choice
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Mix all the ingredients into a large bowl
  2. Make 1/8 cup size balls and place on a cooking sheet to freeze and harden for 10-15 minutes.
  3. Store your energy bites in the refrigerator or freezer.
  4. Optional: Place 2 balls in snack baggies so they are ready to go and grab to eat before a run, during a run, or after a run!
Recipe Notes

Optional additional ingredients: 1/2 tsp of salt (for extra sodium to add to your pre workout, during workout, or post workout snacks), 1-2 Tbsp of unsweetened cocoa powder (for all you chocolate lovers out there), 2 tsp of ground cinnamon or ground ginger (for an extra kick of spice).

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Nutrition Analysis Per Serving (without the optional ingredients): Calories: 91, Fat: 5g, Sat Fat: 0.5 g, Cholesterol: 0g, Carbohydrate: 11 g, Dietary Fiber: 1 g, Protein: 2g, Sodium: 2 mg.

Classic Fudgie Baby Bites
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Servings
30
Servings
30
Classic Fudgie Baby Bites
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Print Recipe
Servings
30
Servings
30
Ingredients
  • 1.5 cup Pitted Dates
  • 1 cup Walnuts, raw
  • 2 Tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 tsp Vanilla Extact
Servings:
Instructions
  1. Microwave the dates in a microwaveable bowl for 2 minutes to soften the dates.
  2. Place the walnuts in the food processor until they are minced.
  3. Optional: Roll the balls in cocoa powder, coconut flakes, or chopped nuts. Place on a cooking sheet to freeze and harden for 10-15 minutes.
  4. Store your energy bites in the refrigerator or freezer. Optional: Place 2 balls in snack baggies so they are ready to go and grab to eat before a run, during a run, or after a run!
Recipe Notes

Optional: 1/4-1/2 cup of unsweetened coconut flakes (to add a coconut flavor), 2-3 Tablespoons of ground coffee beans or instant coffee (to add caffeine), and pinch of salt (to add sodium), 1-2 tsp of peppermint oil (to add a mint flavor to make a thin mint energy ball)

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Nutrition Analysis Per Serving (without the optional ingredients):  Calories: 50 g, Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 0g, Carbohydrate: 10 g, Dietary Fiber: 1g, Protein 1g, Sodium: 0mg

 

Enjoy getting your hands dirty in the kitchen making your own energy bites & most importantly, enjoy being prepared with your workout FUEL!

Thanks for reading  :mrgreen:

Your Dietitian,

The Nutriciser