BITE into a Healthy Lifestyle: National Nutrition Month 2015

As this year’s fantastic National Nutrition Month (NNM) is sadly coming to a close I wanted to share a recipe for some energy bites I made this morning. If you weren’t aware this year’s NNM theme is ‘Bite into a Healthy Lifestyle’. Much of the focus for me this year was creating awareness in the small changes that we can make. Within our day-to-day routine there are most likely many little things that can be changed into something healthier. It may be scary to make full-blown or extreme changes to the way we eat or how active our lifestyle is. For some people it is much more manageable to incorporate a few new things at a time; this way we can also see how our bodies react.

At work I wanted to close out NNM with one last celebration so I encouraged everyone to bring their favorite healthy “bite” today. At this point the jury is still out on what people brought, but I gave ideas for appetizers, power/energy bites, or simply their favorite healthy snack. As I type I can feel my stomach grumbling… But the show must go on, it’s not time to dive into the treats yet.

The recipe I chose to make and share is Chocolate Cranberry Energy Bites. These no bake style energy bites were very easy to prepare and contain several bona fide healthy ingredients that are readily available in the home. I have actually prepared something very similar with the children I work with for a fun cooking activity. I tend to use sunflower butter instead of peanut butter due to many concerns about peanut and tree nut allergies. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed preparing this recipe and I think it is definitely a fun activity to do with your family as well.

See below for the full recipe and let me know what you think if you try them!

Chocolate Cranberry Energy Bites

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Old Fashioned Oats (dry)

1/2 cup Ground Flaxseed

1/2 cup Chocolate Chips (or cocoa nibs)

1/2 cup Dried Cranberries

1/4 Coconut Flakes (toasted if preferred)

1/2 cup Peanut Butter (or sunflower butter)

1/3 cup Honey (or agave)

1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

-  Stir all ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl until thoroughly mixed. Cover and let chill in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes.

- Once chilled, roll into approximately 1” in diameter-sized balls. I found that when my hands were clean they were easier to roll; washing your hands every five bites or so may be helpful. Store in an airtight container and keep refrigerated, enjoy for up to 1 week.

-  Makes about 25-30 balls.

*I will report back with an additional note about my favorite items other people bring!

My favorite thing that someone else brought was a simple apple dip that contained: vanilla greek yogurt, natural creamy peanut butter, cinnamon, and honey. Yum!