These delightful bites are packed with healthy goodness and super delicious! A perfect treat for any time of day.
These energy bites offers lots of goodness and are so tasty, you just can’t eat one. They are perfect for on the go snacks or when you need that mid-afternoon pick-me-up, these will do the trick. They make a very sweet gift to someone special at Christmas or Valentine’s Day. 🙂
Ingredients for these yummy bites
- Rolled oats: is my preference and I do like to use organic rolled oats
- Dates: there are a number of varieties of dates, any of the varieties will work for this recipe
- Walnuts: loaded with Omega 3’s
- Shredded unsweetened coconut: is my preference, since the dates offer even sweetness
- Coconut oil: you can substitute with maple syrup
- Vanilla extra
- Salt
- Sunflower Seeds: adds some texture
- Flaxseed: make sure they are ground for better absorption
Can I substitute any of these ingredients?
Absolutely, you can!! You need an ingredient that is sticky and will bring all of the ingredients you add together. So in this case I added dates. You can substitute with a peanut, almond or walnut butter.
I like to add oats to my recipes whenever I can as they are incredibly nutritious. You can substitute with almond or coconut flour.
The other ingredients I added were for flavour, colour, texture and nutritious. So you have all kinds of options. Adding different nuts or seeds or simply adding almonds, hazelnuts, or pecans.
If you have any questions, please feel free to send me an email. I am here to answer all of your questions! 🙂
Chocolate Oat Coconut Date Bites
Ingredients
- 1 cup organic old-fashion rolled oats
- 25 dates, cut in half
- 1/2 cup walnuts
- 1/2 cup organic shredded unsweetened coconut (half for coating)
- 3 tbsp organic cocoa powder
- 2 tbsp organic coconut oil, melted (substitute 1 tbsp with maple syrup)
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extra
- pinch of salt
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed (optional)
Instructions
- Place the oats into the food processor and pulse for about 3-5 seconds. Add the dates, and walnuts and pulse for another 10 pulses or more until they are broken into small pieces.
- Add the remaining ingredients half of the coconut, cocoa powder, coconut oil, vanilla, salt and sunflower seeds until all the ingredients are incorporated and well blended. If mixture is too dry, add milk or water.
- Note: You will need to add an extra tablespoon of coconut oil (maple syrup) if you add the 1/4 cup of flaxseed.
- Use a tablespoon or small ice cream scooper to scoop out the mixture and shape into balls.
- Coat each bite with the remaining ¼ cup of coconut. Place bites in a baking dish or baking sheet with parchment paper, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until they harden.
- Store in the refrigerator in a seal container for up to two weeks. They freeze well too.
Nutrition
Making these bites:
I preferred to break down the oats in the food processor, as I didn’t want large oat pieces in my bites and you still get the same goodness from the oats. If you choose to leave them as they are, that’s fine too. Pulse all the ingredients together until they are well blended. Test the mixture to see if you can form a ball. If you find the mixture is a little dry, add some water or milk.
Take half of the remaining shredded coconut and roll the bites until they are well coated. I don’t know about you but I love coconut, and I tend to add more than the recipe says. Coconut not only adds sweetness to recipes but it has heart health benefits and lowers cholesterol.
Lay the coated bites on a baking sheet lined with parchment, wax or plastic wrap. Refrigerate to all them to cool then store them in a seal container.
