All you need is a blender or food processor. No oven required!
These don’t taste like they should be healthy. They taste like mini pumpkin cakes! I came up with this recipe when I ran out of the Fruit and Nut Bites I made earlier this year.
For me, foods like this are incredibly handy, because:
1) I travel A LOT, and
2) with being ill my appetite isn’t always great, so these are easy to grab and they give me a kick of calories, protein, fiber and healthy fat without having to eat a lot.
In developing this recipe, I also had a co-pilot in the kitchen – my mom! She did all of the hard work. I sat in a chair, wrote out what and how much of the ingredients and she whipped them up for me (BTW – incredibly easy to make!). The first batch lacked flavour, so I made some alterations to the recipe, handed it to my mom and went back to bed. When I woke up a I found that this had recipe made the best pumpkin spice bites I could have imagined!
Not only are these really handy for travelling, they are also great to toss into lunch bags or for after school snacks before running the kids to gymnastics or hockey practice.
These pumpkin spice bites are full of fiber and healthy fats! Loaded with nuts, seeds and other good-for-you ingredients (ok… there are some chocolate chips, so these are decedent healthy treat!), but they aren’t only a source of fiber and healthy fat, they also pack a bit of protein with each bite.
This recipe is naturally gluten free, and can be lactose-free as well by replacing the chocolate chips with a dairy-free version. Just remember, ‘energy bites’ are called ‘energy bites’ for a reason! Some people hear “energy bites” and think that by eating these you’ll get a boost of energy. This, while some-what accurate is a stretch from the truth.
Let me break it down…
Calories are the body’s source of energy; they are what fuels our body. Just like gasoline fuels our car. Eating an energy bite won’t give you the same result as drinking a Red Bull (which by the way, I don’t recommend). Energy bites are simply just a high calorie bite of food.
Per serving (1 bite): 97 calories, 5g fat, 3g fiber, 3g protein
Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites
Ingredients:
15 prunes
1 cup puree pumpkin (canned is fine)
¼ cup chia seeds
2 cups oats
2/3 cup ground flax
1/3 cup hemp seeds
¼ cup shredded coconut
½ cup coconut flour
2 tablespoons maple syrup
½ cup peanut butter
1/3 cup chocolate chips
2.5 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
¼ tablespoon ground ginger
¼ tablespoon ground cloves
Directions:
1) Combine pumpkin and chia seeds and let sit for at least 15 minutes
2) Using a food processor or blender pulse the prunes to make it into a paste
3) Transfer prunes to a large bowl and add the dry ingredients to the prunes (oats, flax, hemp, coconut, coconut flour, spices)
4) Mix well
5) Add pumpkin chia seed mixture, maple syrup and peanut butter, stir well to combine
6) Mix in chocolate chips
7) Use a tablespoon to scoop and roll into balls
Yield: 35 table-tennis sized bites NOTE: these store great in the freezer!
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