The past few weeks, I’ll admit, I have been slacking off on my diet, so this week I am once again getting focused on healthy snacks and meals that I can make ahead. I’ve seen all these “No Bake Energy Blast” type things on Pinterest, and haven’t really known what to think about them. However, after seeing how versatile they are, I decided they might be just the thing to make for a quick and healthy breakfast, snack, and sweet-tooth quencher.
Now I’m sorry to say there’s no pictures of this process. There’s actually a reason for that and it brings me to my disclaimer:
This is messy.
By messy I mean you’re mixing sticky stuff with your hands… Not real easy to grab a camera and start snapping pictures in the middle of that!
What I love about these bites (besides the fact that they’re absolutely delicious) is the fact that you can make them any way you want! I think the base of chia seeds, oats, and dates is a pretty good combination, but from there you can really throw in whatever! I used cherry preserves, dried cherries, almond butter and cashews, but you could just as easily use any other type of preserves, dried fruits and nuts.
Ingredients
- 1 cup dates
- 1/3 cup cherry preserves
- 1/3 cup almond butter
- 1/2 cup chia seeds
- 1 cup oats
- 1/2 c dried cherries
- 1/2 c cashews, chopped
Instructions
- In a food processor, combine dates, cherry preserves, and almond butter until a ball forms.
- In a bowl, use your hands to knead chia seeds, oats, cherries, and cashews into the "dough" (Hint: Coat your hands in coconut oil first to keep the mixture from sticking to your hand!)
- Spray coconut oil on a piece of parchment paper and lay in a baking dish.
- Spread "dough" on parchment paper until even and about 1/2 inch thick.
- Move to refrigerator and let chill for at least 1 hour. Cut into squares and serve immediately. Wrap leftovers individually with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container.
Let me know what you think!
Sara