Are you tired of snacking on foods with too many empty carbs? These energy bites have lots of protein and other good vitamins and minerals to help carry you through your busy day. I call them Special K energy bites because in addition to peanut butter, honey, oats, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, and chia seeds, they contain Special K cereal. Rich and peanut buttery with a slight crunch, these energy bites are a great combination of healthy and pleasingly delicious.
Tag: peanut butter
These little cookies hit the spot if you are looking for something sweet, yet full of protein and nutrition. Peanut butter and oats give the cookies lots of nutrients, taste, and texture, and they are easy to eat as a satisfying snack or dessert. These peanut butter-oatmeal bites are going so quickly around here, next time I make them I’m going to double the recipe!
With my kids’ spring sports schedules starting, I am once again looking for snacks that taste good, can be eaten quickly, and that also have nutrients to give my active kids good energy. I am very happy with this recipe, which I adapted from one in my Dr. Cookie Cookbook by Marvin Wayne and Stephen Yarnall. There’s just enough sweetness from the brown sugar to make the cookies taste like a treat, but enough substance to make them more than just sweet. If you are looking for an easy, protein-rich cookie, this is a great recipe to try.
It is the very last day of March today, and I must say I am really looking forward to April! Although it’s still chilly here, it’s such a great time to be outside, with the fresh wind, green grass, and trees and bushes budding. The spring peepers have been peeping really loudly at night, and I love to sleep with the window cracked open so I can listen to those frogs all night long. There is a feeling of new life and excitement in the air–I can sense it just from watching the birds in the sky.
Yesterday evening, I picked our first herb of the season–chives to chop and put on top of our macaroni and cheese. I had forgotten how convenient and fresh it is to walk outside and snip some herbs to add to our dinner. Soon there will be more and more things growing and blossoming, and more and more recipes to make! In the meantime, these little peanut butter-oatmeal bites are tiding me over very nicely.
I hope you all have a great weekend! I’m going to take a plate of these cookies over to Angie’s Fiesta Friday #113, co-hosted by two bloggers whose blogs I really admire: Sonal @ Simplyvegetarian777 and Laurie @ ten.times.tea.
Peanut Butter-Oatmeal Bites
Ingredients:
- 1 large egg
- 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup of natural peanut butter, creamy or crunchy
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 1 cup of unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup of old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
In a large mixing bowl, vigorously stir the egg, brown sugar, butter, peanut butter, and vanilla until well combined. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, oats, and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to to wet ingredients, and stir until well combined.
Drop the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto a baking sheet, about 12 cookies per baking sheet. Bake in your 350-degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until cookies are golden. Cool the cookies on a wire rack. Repeat until all the cookies are baked. Enjoy!
This recipe is adapted from the Dr. Cookie Cookbook by Marvin A. Wayne and Stephen R. Yarnall.
Good recipes never exist in isolation. They are passed from one person to another, with changes and substitutions made along the way, so they never stay exactly the same. The recipe for Energy Bites that I have posted below is one of those recipes. A good friend gave me this recipe, and she got it from a friend of hers. She and I have both made modifications along the way, and it has become a living, ever-evolving recipe. My friend made these energy bites for my family when we were going through a difficult time and she knew we would not have a lot of time to sit down and eat. They were perfect, because they were portable, easy to eat, and gave us sustained energy rather than the short-lived energy of straight carbohydrates. I am grateful to her for giving the recipe to me, and I am sharing this recipe now because I see a need for quick, nutritious snacks among friends of mine who have children in sports and other activities. We are often lamenting about how it is difficult to give our kids snacks that will sustain them through their sports activities, yet will not be full of empty calories or sit like rocks in their stomachs. So busy parents, this one’s for you! And this is really for anyone of any age who is going from one thing to the next, and needs something nutritious to get through until the next meal. 
These energy bites are packed with protein, fiber, vitamin E (with anti-inflammatory effects), and the “good” monounsaturated fat from the peanut butter. The ground flax seeds have lots of omega-3 fatty acids (also good fat) and antioxidants. The sunflower seeds have lots of vitamin E and magnesium. The chocolate chips and honey give them the sweetness, so they don’t taste too “healthy”. Also, they are really easy to make–another bonus in busy times.
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