Let’s talk about energy shall we? Do you have it?
If your answer is yes, then please share with me all of your secrets. I’m not kidding one bit – tell me all the deets! Because ever since my who-ha dilated to 10cm I pushed out a baby and every ounce of extra energy in me came flying out to.
Parenthood will suck you dry.
Diets are for the birds, or the celebrities I should say. I think the word diet should not even exist. I’m a big believer in making better life style changes. Which is exactly what Dan and I have been doing for a few weeks. In our house, we are pasta and pizza freaks. It’s unfortunate to admit that the majority of our dinners were a carb lovers dream. Heavier, bread filled dinners that weighed us down for our late night reality t.v. watching. We knew we could not just give all carbs up, I would go crazy! So we decided that 5 out of the 7 days of the week, our dinners would be protein and veggies, with the occasional wrap tossed in there. During the day, we’ve really held ourselves accountable with our food choices. We started by swapping any junk food out of our pantry for extremely healthy choices, helping us stay on track when time to eat during the day is hard to come by.
I’ll admit, the first 3 days I was SO irritable. I really did not realize how much I relied on carbs and sugar to get through my day. (Oh yeah, NO desserts during the week too!) Once I had three dinners under my belt, and realized just how satisfying the meals were that we were cooking tasted, I was hooked.
It was the snacking during the day that presented the real struggle. I am guilty of never finding the time to eat proper meals during the day. I hardly get a chance to sit let alone make myself a sandwich. No matter how hard I try by dinner time I am shoving my face because my snacking throughout the day lacked nutrition and purpose.
Until now!
We always have a big bin of cucumbers and peppers cut up and ready to go for afternoon snacks (which 99% of the time ends up being my lunch) I needed something different, something that was a little bit more dense, filling, and full of nutrition. Never did I think these would help my aching sweet tooth too!
These energy bites popped up on my Pinterest feed the other day and I knew I had to give them a try. All of my favorite ingredients rolled into one protein and nutrient packed ball. The perfect punch I need to give me a zap of energy during the day. I’d like to call them bazinga balls, perhaps I’ll switch the name.
If you are looking for a wholesome treat to have on hand to kick your candy cravings at any time of day, you’ve met your new best friend.
What you will need:
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups unsweetened coconut
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup ground flaxseed
2 Tbsp chia seed
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup chocolate chips
Mix it up good, use your hands folks! When rolling the balls you have to really knead it all together, once it sticks you are good to go!
It feels great to be able to give myself a ton of vitamins and the fiber I need to fill my belly up when I am in a pinch. These energy bites are rich and SO satisfying! The peanut butter binds all of the ingredients together, which by the way are beyond nutritious you cannot go wrong! Flaxseed and Chia Seeds are a powerhouse of Omega-3’s. Chia seeds are new for us, and come to find they are a great source of iron which is perfect for our family that hardly ever eats red meat!
These will definitely be on rotation in our house – a new staple if you will. The coconut flakes add the perfect touch to make this healthy snack feel a bit more indulgent, reminding me a bit of a mounds bar. Mmm… yes please.
Perfect to keep out on the countertop for little hands to grab! Or toss a few in a Ziploc bag for your car ride to and from work!
YUMMMM!
p.s. today is day 1 of our Valentine’s Day Challenge, if you missed the post, click HERE and jump on the kindness train with us!