Obviously, Lovely Little Kitchen is not always all about healthy food, but every now and then a yummy recipe idea comes along that just so happens to be good for you. This is one of those recipes and I’m excited to share it with you.
There are lots of energy bite recipes floating around out there and the possibilities are endless, but this is the first one I’ve tried making. The peanut butter and honey combo reminds me of my elementary school days when my mom would pack me a peanut butter and honey sandwich for lunch.
These little granola bar like bites are perfect for breakfast, post-workout snacks, school lunches, or after school snacks. My favorite way to eat them is for lunch alongside some thin slices of a Honeycrisp apple. Serious flavor combo perfection!
And here’s a little tip for getting your kids to want to try these. Don’t call them energy bites. They might be a little hesitant because that sounds too healthy. Call them cookie balls. Much friendlier to kids. Just like you can call these smoothies something like green monster smoothies or incredible hulk smoothies.
You’ll notice that finely chopped dates are listed in the recipe ingredients. Don’t worry a bit about this if you are not a fan of dates. You wouldn’t notice them if you didn’t know there were in there, but they help bind the other ingredients together and provide a natural sweetness. I promise they don’t taste like little balls of fruitcake.
PrintHoney Oat Energy Bites
Healthy little granola bar like bites perfect for snacking.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 40 1x
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1 cup natural peanut butter, I used Skippy super chunk
- 2/3 cup honey
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup finely chopped dates
- 1 1/2 cup sweetened flake coconut, chopped
- 3/4 cup ground flax seed
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Measure out the peanut butter and honey into a large glass bowl, and microwave for 30 seconds.
- Stir together until well combined.
- Add oats, dates, coconut, flax and salt and mix until well coated.
- Cover and chill for 1 hour, and then scoop into 1 inch balls onto a Silpat lined baking sheet. I packed the oat mixture into a small Pampered Chef scoop so that it was firmly pressed together, and then released it from the scoop and rolled it a little with my hands. It’s a little bit of a sticky job, but the chilling helps.
- Chill the balls for another hour, and then put them into a sealed container. I kept mine in the fridge so they would last longer, and we liked how they tasted cold. You can also freeze these for later use.
Notes
Inspired by Sugar and Grace.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Energy Bite
- Calories: 103
- Sugar: 7.4g
- Sodium: 47mg
- Fat: 5.4g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 3.4g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 2.7g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
I love these balls, I will definitely Pin it. I agree with you about naming foods that will appeal tasty for our children. My little son did not like tomato soup, but I know that he likes ketchup…. So now I call Tomato Soup .. A Ketchup Soup:) Now he loves it!
Ketchup soup! That’s so cute. Hope you do get a chance to make these.
I made these this week and they were delicious!!! Thanks for posting this inspired recipe. I need to always have something like this on hand (esp for those days that I just go go go) and this was just what I needed this week. Making round two tomorrow.
I’m so glad you like them! I need to make them again- it’s been a while and they are the perfect little snack.
Do you think this is good for a two year old? Plus can I use something else but dates? I don’t have any. And also can I use smooth peanut butter??
These would be a good snack for a two year old. You could probably use chopped raisins in place of the dates. Smooth peanut butter is fine. Another recipe your little one might like is these Chocolate Chip Granola Bars.
I love these! I use your recipe as a base for measurements and sub out different flavors. My latest one came out so good. I used organic dried pineapple in place of the dates, almond butter for the PB, and instead of ground flax seed I used half of each ground and whole hemp seeds. Fun! Thank you for your recipe!
Yum, thanks Jenny!