Bite me sweet
Come winter, and snacking seems to be a given. And then the cycle sets in the worrying about weight gain, a New Year’s resolution to lose weight, paying up that annual gym membership when January rolls around, and well… it’s all downhill from there. What if we can nip the problem in the bud with some healthy snacking? We present two win-win recipes: quick-to-make, healthy and sweet, to boot.
No-Bake Energy Bars
This one’s as simple as it gets, and you don’t even need to go anywhere near your stove to make this one.
You’ll need:
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup flax seeds, ground finely
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
How to prepare:
• Mix the oats, peanut butter, chocolate chips, flax seeds, honey and vanilla extract in a large bowl.
• Cover the dough well and refrigerate for half an hour.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator, press it onto a baking sheet and cut into bars. You can also roll them into balls straight from the dough.
• Store in the refrigerator.
Date Coconut Protein Balls
What’s not to love about dates and coconut? And there’s protein to boot!
You’ll need:
• 2-1/2 cups dates pitted
• 1 cup almonds
• 1/2 cup protein powder
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup flax seeds
• 1/2 tsp vanilla/almond extract
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
How to prepare:
• Add the almonds and 1 tablespoon of protein powder to a grinder. Pulse until the almonds are coarsely ground. Keep aside 3 tablespoons of the mix.
• Add the dates, the rest of the protein powder, half cup of coconut, cocoa powder, flax seeds, salt, and extract.
• Pulse to combine, scraping down the sides as you go, until the mix is well-blended.
• Scoop out roughly two tablespoons, and roll into balls.
• Roll each ball into the remaining coconut, and sprinkle a bit of the ground almond on top.
• Store in the refrigerator
