One of the hazards of my jobs is that I am constantly working with food: writing about food, taking pictures of food, or cooking food. Not such a bad thing, but it does mean that I am thinking about food constantly. Couple that with a super fast, high-energy metabolism and you’ve got a girl who eats. All. The. Time.
I try to eat regular meals throughout the day, but there is always some snacking in between. I usually get super nibbley around 11am and 4pm, and need something hearty and delicious to snack on. These little Chocolate Energy Bites are perfect for these mid-day snack attacks. Made from an awesome mix of nuts, fruits and hemp protein powder they are healthy enough to make you feel good and powerful, but not so sweet as to make you crash. Just a good, clean snack. Thanks to Manitoba Harvest for sharing the hemp protein powder with us to sample.
Chocolate Energy Bites
2 cups mixed nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans)
Pinch sea salt
2-4 Tablespoons cacao powder + extra for dusting
2-4 Tablespoons hemp protein powder
8-10 Medjool dates, pitted
1/4 cup raisins
2 Tablespoons coconut oil
2 Tablespoons honey or maple syrup (optional)
- Grind nuts and salt in the food processor until totally fine. Toss in cacao and hemp and pulse to combine. Add dates and raisins and blend again, until fruits have broken apart. Add honey and coconut oil and blend until mixture sticks together between your fingers.
- Measure out 1 Tablespoon and rolls into a ball, laying onto a plate or cookie sheet. Let chill in freezer until solidified. Dust with cacao powder if you like. Move to fridge to keep for many weeks… or until to eat them all!
- As you can see in the bottom photo, these energy bits can also be crumbled onto oatmeal, fruits or otherwise used to add a bit of nutty-chocolate awesomeness where ever it might be needed.
Yield: about 20 energy bites
so yummy!! When can we get together and cook some goodies? :P