Although I eat a lot whole grains, vegetables and legumes throughout the day, I have a bad habit of having something sweet after both lunch and dinner. It’s a habit that I’m trying to break, as I know sweet treats should be…well…treats! They should not be a twice-a-day sort of thing. Nor should they be full of processed sugar and oil. But I’m such a sucker for my mom’s vegan chocolate raspberry shortbread bars. *drools* As of late, I’ve been trying out different “treat” recipes that are made with natural sugars (mainly pure maple) and filled with both protein and fibre. These energy bites fit the bill AND they are so decadent and chocolately. *swoons*
These double chocolate bad boys are incredibly easy to make. The base is a combination of rolled oats (ground into a coarse flour), pure maple and unsweetened almond butter. Some cocoa powder, shredded coconut and pure vanilla extract flavour these bites perfectly. Add in some sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, and omega-3 packed chia seeds and hemp seeds and you’ve got a high-fibre, high-protein treat with healthy fats. To make things a little indulgent, I add a quarter cup of dairy-free chocolate chips. I like the Enjoy Life brand of chocolate chips best. You can swap out the chocolate chips for cocoa nibs or carob chips. Each ball is only 100 calories and is guaranteed to make your sweet tooth happy. These are truly the best afternoon pick-me-up.
Wishing you all a truly wonderful day. xo
Easy, all-natural protein bites packed with healthy seeds (pumpkin, chia, hemp and sunflower) and lightly sweetened with maple. The cocoa powder and chocolate chips give these energy bites a bit of an indulgent feel, but they are loaded with good-for-you ingredients and full of fibre.
Ingredients
- 1 cup of rolled oats
- 3/4 cup of unsweetened coconut
- 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds
- 1/4 cup of sunflower seeds
- 2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond butter
- 1/4 cup of pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of chia seeds
- 1 tablespoon of hemp seeds
- 1/4 cup of mini dairy-free chocolate chips or cocoa nibs
Method
- Add the rolled oats, cocoa powder, shredded coconut, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds to the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until the oats/seeds become a coarse meal.
- Pour in the pure maple syrup, almond butter and pure vanilla extract. Pulse 2-3 times to combine.
- Mix in the chia seeds, hemp seeds and dairy-free chocolate chips. Add 1-2 tablespoons of water if the mixture appears too think. Place energy bite mixture in the fridge for 10 minutes, so that the dough is easier to roll.
- Scoop out one heaping tablespoon of dough and roll into a ball with your hands. Continue with all of the remaining dough.
- Store in an air-tight glass container in the fridge for up to a week.
Source: The Fig Tree
I’m excited to make these for Len & I! Packed full of all my fav flavours…thanks for the inspiration, Courtney.
I’m a daily dessert person too! Even it’s just a small bite (like these delicious double chocolate coconut energy bites), I just have to sink my teeth into something sweet, too. Love this simple and healthy recipe!
Hi Courtney,
Did you know that last school year, you visited our classroom to talk about blogging as we learning about the subject blogging in english. Jacklyn and I really like your blog and it was so cool to meet you.
How did we meet you, well our awesome grade 7 teacher, Jessica Hurd as you may know asked you to come in and speak to our class.
It was a really cool experience and still to this day, we have been trying out some of your recipes and really enjoy them. We are so glad that Jessica showed us your blog and asked you to come in and speak to our class.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Jacklyn and Jayden
Ohhh… I definitely need my treats too! Right around…. 2:00 right?! I’ll have to try these out as an alternative to my usual.. chocolate!
These definitely do the trick! Two little bites with a cup of tea make my afternoon so much better :)