D is for: Date Energy Bites with Almonds, Oats & Coconut

I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to the early mornings. Never once in the past year has my alarm gone off and I’ve thought to myself “Wow, I’m wide awake and ready to start my day.”

Generally speaking, it’s more like “Ugghhhh. Noooooo. Just five more minutes.” Followed by “Ok five more minutes.” Usually I do that a few too many times before I frantically throw the covers off the bed and try to quickly hurry out of the house.

To help speed my getting ready process along in the morning, I do as much as I can the night before… including prep my breakfasts on Sunday for the week ahead. My go-to grab and go breakfasts these days: Overnight Oats, hard boiled eggs, and these date energy balls to eat as a mid-show snack.

These are so ridiculously easy to make as long as you have a food processor. First, put your almonds, oats, chia seeds, & pinch of salt in the food processor. Pulse a few times until the nuts are coarsely chopped.

Next, add the pitted dates, cocoa powder, coconut flakes, vanilla and water. The great part about these bites is there’s no added sugar. That’s because the dates provide just the right amount of sweetness and also help bind everything together.

Process the mixture until a thick dough forms. If it seems dry, add another tablespoon of water. Stick it in the fridge for about 20 minutes. This will help with the rolling process. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, and roll into 10-12 balls. Place in the freezer for about an hour. From there, transfer to a freezer safe container or bag. You can store in either the freezer or fridge, but I like to eat them out of the freezer. They won’t ever freeze completely solid, so you can easily pop into your mouth and enjoy right away.

These are totally customizable as well. Swap out different nuts or add some almond or peanut butter. Whatever your little heart desires! I find the mixture of coconut flakes, almonds and cocoa powder makes them taste kind of like an Almond Joy! And even better… each one will only cost you 75 calories!