No-Bake Energy Bites

Well, we've reached the point in the year when people's New Year's resolutions to eat better have started to waver. Right? No? Hmm. Maybe that's just me then. That's why these energy bites are the perfect snack. They're sweet and will serve as a dessert, but without completely blowing your diet. They have good-for-you ingredients in them, including chia seeds, which appear to be the super food of 2014. I'll admit, I've fallen for it and I add chia seeds to my smoothies every morning and have pinned a whole bunch of recipes with chia seeds on Pinterest. I have no idea if they're doing anything for me, but I like to think they are.

I made these bites pretty small, because I like to be able to have a couple of them without feeling guilty. I got about 30 bites out of the batch with them being at or just under an inch each. I kept them in the refrigerator because that's what the recipe I worked off of said to do, but just a warning, I think that makes them a little crumbly. With almost every one, they started to crumble a bit after the first bite. This could be solved by popping the whole thing in your mouth, but I annoyingly nibbled on them to make them last longer!

Important note here - when I say use ground flax seed, do what I say. Don't be like me and figure that to save money, you'll grind your own flax seeds that you already have at home. Do you know how long it takes to grind flax seeds into 1/2 cup of ground seeds? I do. It takes one hour. I started grinding them in the kitchen standing over the counter and quickly realized how long it was going to take. So I moved into the living room and watched an entire episode of Chopped while grinding the seeds. Granted, I did have to take a few very short breaks because my hands were cramping up (sad, I know) but it took a really long time. Don't be like me. Buy your flax seed already ground!

No-Bake Energy Bites
Recipe from Gimme Some Oven

Ingredients
1 cup old-fashioned oats (quick cooking oats would work fine too)
2/3 cup toasted coconut flakes*
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup ground flax seed
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup maple syrup (you could also use honey)
1 Tbsp. chia seeds
1 tsp. vanilla extract

*To toast the coconut, spread the flakes in a single layer in a skillet and cook, stirring frequently, over medium-low heat until the flakes begin to turn golden brown.

Directions 

Stir all ingredients together in a medium bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for about half an hour. Once chilled, roll into balls of whatever size you would like. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated for up to a week.