Healthy Bites

Do you get magazines that you’re sure were never subscribed to?   We don’t subscribe to any yet a few continue to arrive in the mail.  They aren’t on my credit card bill so I’m not sure who’s paying for them.  Probably about three quarters of the publication is all advertisements so as quickly as it is taken from the mail box the magazine is put in the trash.

One such magazine is Health. So does anyone know, is this SUPPOSED to be a free publication? or are they somehow getting money from somewhere that I don’t know about?  Anyway, I scan through just in case there might be an item of interest.  It turned out the last issue contained some interesting recipes called “Healthy Bites”.  So far, I’m really happy with the outcome.  *Of course I tweaked the recipe a little as always and that way I call it my own.  Both of the following recipes are NO BAKE.  Simply refrigerate and store for up to 1 week or freeze for 1 month.

Recipe 1:  Orange Cocoa Energy Bites  – You’ll need a food processor

• 1 cup raw cashews
• 1 cup pitted whole dates
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• Zest from one large orange *Save the orange to have with breakfast!
• 2 TBS cacao nibs
• 2-3 TBS sweetened shredded coconut

Put the cashews in the food processor and grind until crumbly. Add the dates and process again.  Add the cocoa powder, sea salt, vanilla, zest and cacao nibs.  Process until it gets a bit sticky, about 1 minute.

Wet hands slightly and roll into 1” balls.  Roll in coconut and put into storage container.  Allow to refrigerate for 1 hour before eating then continue to store in the fridge otherwise they soften up.

Approx. 100 calories, 6 grams fat, 3 grams fiber, 2 grams protein and 9 grams carb.

Recipe 2:  Peanut Butter and Cherry Power Bars – You will need the food processor again.

*Use tahini paste if anyone in the family is allergic to nuts.

• 1/2 cup quick cook oats
• 1 1/2 cups pitted, whole dates
• 1/3 cup unsweetened nut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 vanilla bean: scrap the pod for vanilla paste *Optional
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/3 cup dried Bing and/or Rainier cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pumpkin seeds

Line a 9 x 9 or 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper.

Process the oats and dates until chopped.  Add the nut butter, vanilla extract and paste, salt and process for 1 minute.  Add the cherries and nuts and process again until mixture gets sticky.

Press into the prepared pan with a spoon then wet your fingers and press again.  You can put some parchment paper over the top and really pack it down if you want.  Allow to refrigerate for an hour before cutting into bars.

Approx. 160 calories. 6 grams fat, 5 grams fiber, 3 grams protein, and 24 grams carbs.

So good with no guilt! Just the kind of sweet snack I like!

Joanne