I’ve been making delicious no-bake energy bites for a while and I love them so much that tonight when I MEANT to make peanut butter protein balls, I ended up just making a slightly less caloric version of these delicious bites. Fine by me!

It’s not many fewer calories per bite, about 30 less, but if you “accidentally” eat four (or six or eight…) instead of one, it adds up (or subtracts up?).

I’m hyper-focused on eating better and working out more right now, which has been very beneficial since I started in early November. I avoided weight gain over the holidays (!!!!), can feel myself getting stronger and just overall feel a little better (when I’m not exhausted from spin class).

This also means that I can be a little obsessed (annoying) with my calories/nutrients. My tried and true method for keeping my weight in check is to count what I eat. I’ve been doing it for 16 years. I’m eternally grateful to my mother for encouraging me to start counting “points” when I was 12 and giving me the baseline knowledge about food and health that I have been using ever since. I’ve also matured from the days when I would ration my calories to eat a McFlurry after dinner (calorie math according to a seventh grader) and now try to get the right balance of nutrients in addition to sticking to a specific calorie range.

WHICH MEANS these bites are the perfect treat for my birthday week! Don’t get me wrong, I fully indulged over the holidays (hello, homemade ziti, cinnamon rolls, cookies, etc) and plan on eating REAL cake and brunch and BBQ on my birthday this weekend (I hope my husband reads this), I just don’t want to do that all week….

Not that these bites are much of a compromise. They are delicious and their texture is out of this world. omnomnomonomonom

Ingredients

• 1 cup oats
• 1/4 cup ground flax-seed
• 1/4 cup lite agave nectar
• 5 tbsps peanut butter
• 1 scoop of protein powder (I used cookies n cream flavored whey protein because I got a huge 5lb barrel of it on sale, which side note, made me feel like a total badass (cough, poser, cough) carrying around Costco)
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes – I only had sweetened, but unsweetened would probably be better!
• 1/4 cup chocolate chips, slightly chopped up so they go further
• 1-2 tbsp water as needed

Directions:

• Add all ingredients except water in a large mixing bowl
• Add water before forming into balls. The mixture will be a little dry since it’s modified and you will need extra moisture to bind them.
• Use a measuring table-spoon to section out the bites and form into balls. Recipe makes about 22 bites.
• Refrigerate!

Nutrition info per bite:

• Calories: 80
• Fat: 4
• Cholesterol: 4
• Sodium: 32
• Carbs: 9
• Fiber: 1.5
• Protein: 3