No-Bake Oatmeal Energy Bites

Recently, I've noted that I crave an occasional bite of chocolate or something sweet in the evenings, or on weekend afternoons at home. Usually, I've been able to curb those cravings with a Medjool Date. The ooey-gooey-caramely taste of dates works (almost) every time. Today I decided to try one of the various no-bake energy recipes I'd been pinning to by Plant-Based Desserts board on Pinterest. This one was one of the first to catch my eye several months ago. Today, it didn't disappoint at all. 

Adapted from: Gimme Some Oven - No Bake Energy Bites

Prep Time: 20-30 min (mostly for rolling the individual bites)

Ingredients (30 Servings):

1. 1 cup Oatmeal* 
2. 1/2 cup Shredded (unsweetened) Dry Coconut 
3. 1/4 cup Sliced Almonds*
4. 1/2 cup + 2 tbsp* Ground Flax Seed Meal  
5. 1/2 cup Non-Dairy (Ghirardelli) Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips
6. 1 tbsp Chia Seeds
7. 1/2 cup "Naturally More" Smooth Peanut Butter (with Flax seeds)
8. 1/3 cup Maple Syrup
9. 2 tbsp Honey*
10. 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl. and then add the wet ingredients and mix well with a rubber spatula so that the peanut butter is evenly distributed. The original recipe calls for 30 min of chilling in the refrigerator but I didn't have the patience and I used rolled the mixture into small balls (~1" in diameter). I got 30 balls out of this recipe. The original recipe calls for refrigerated storage for up to 1 week. I decided to freeze my batch in individual paper truffle cups. That way I won't eat them all at once and I can thaw only what I want when I'm craving a sweet something.

My Assessment: Love these!! The coconut and almonds add chewiness and the chocolate does its own thing. These tasted like a really chewy Oatmeal chocolate chip cookie! Next time I might even consider adding raisins to this recipe. A+++

My Modifications*:

• I used Instant Oats because I'm trying to get rid of a big box. The original recipe calls for Old Fashioned oats, but allows for a bunch of different grains.
• I swapped 1/4 cup coconut with almonds, just because!! :) 
• I added 2 extra tbsp of Flax Seed because that's all I had remaining after adding 1/2 cup. 
• I added 2 tbsp of honey because the mixture still felt dry after adding maple syrup and peanut butter. I used honey instead of more maple syrup as I figured it would add an extra flavor and it is also stickier. 
• I didn't refrigerate as the recipe called for, but it might be a good idea as they do tend to get really messy while rolling. 
• One option for making them less messy would be to roll each ball in shredded/ground coconut or sesame seeds before placing it in its individual candy cup.  

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 76 (Fat Calories 36)
Total Fat 4.0 g; Carbohydrates 8.3 g; Fiber 1.8 g; Sugars 4.2 g; Protein 2.4 g

Chocolate Bread Pudding

So after Tony had a sinus infection last week, he lovingly passed it onto me :)!! Not a pleasant experience especially since I was hit much harder than he was and after 3 days of OTC medicines had to go in to see the doctor and get the big guns!!! Last night was the worst ... head ache, plugged up, sore scratchy throat and a lot of coughing, fever .. the works!! So as I'm laying in bed with my achy throat, I was craving something soft and gooey (oh no!). So I decided to try this bread pudding, which came together in 5 minutes and was warm and gooey after 30 min at 375 F. 

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Prep Time: Less than 5 min and 30 min in the oven

Ingredients (Serves 2):

1. 3 slices of 100% whole wheat bread (I used Brownberry Double Fiber Bread)
   
2. 4 tbsp Vegan Chocolate Chocolate chips
3. 2 tbsp Slivered Almonds
4. 1 cup Almond Milk (Silk PureAlmond Unsweetened)
5. 1-2 tbsp Maple Syrup (to taste)
6. 1 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa
7. 1/4 tsp Cinnamon
8. 1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Cut bread slices into halves and place the first 2 in a bread pan. Sprinkle a few almonds and chocolate chips on these and then add 2 more slices. Sprinkle a few more almonds and chocolate chips and top off with the last slice of bread. In a separate cup make a thick paste with cocoa, vanilla extract, cinnamon and maple syrup and then add almond milk and mix it all together. Making a paste with maple syrup first helps the cocoa and cinnamon mix into the milk much better than if you added these directly to the milk. Once the almond milk mixture is nice and smooth, pour it over the bread very slowly making sure some of it is absorbed into the top slice and seeps in (instead of just pouring off to the side). Place in oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes (at the end you should see no spare liquid, except for thick gooey chocolaty bubbles on the side) as it should all be absorbed by the bread). Serve warm, with freshly sliced bananas and sprinkled with slivered almonds and more chocolate chips. 

Gooey Chocolate Bread Pudding

My Assessment: This hit the spot last night. The bread was gooey and soft and chocolaty and no added fat!! I like nuts but Tony doesn't and so I will probably make it without the added nuts the next time and just sprinkle some on top for myself. 

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving): Calories 110 (Fat Calories 41)
Total Fat 4.6 g; Carbohydrates 17.0 g; Fiber 2.3 g; Sugars 12.3 g; Protein 2.3 g