Recipe: Quick and Easy Zero Waste Energy Bites

Around 10:30 a.m. every week day, once my breakfast has worn off, I’ve gotten into the habit of reaching for my favorite energy bar - which also happens to be wrapped in plastic.

As a vegetarian, I need my protein! That’s where these energy bites come in. This recipe is an adaptation of Alison Wu’s Golden Chip Bliss Balls.

Zero Waste and Plastic Free

Opting for whole almonds and flax seed from the bulk section helps to make a quick and easy almond meal. Add these to the Vitamix and blend for about a minute and you’re set.

Imperfect Produce provided us with some paper wrapped medjool dates, which topped off the plastic-free affair.

Many of the other ingredients we already had. So next time, we’ll get bulk spices and almond butter. Coconut butter comes in glass with a metal lid. It’s not perfect but at least it cuts down plastic waste.

Recipe

  • 2 Cups of Almond and Flax Meal

  • 10-12 Medjool Dates

  • 1 cup almond butter

  • 1 1/2 cup coconut butter. This is a bit creamier than regular coconut oil.

  • 2 tablespoons turmeric. This feels like a lot, but it adds a great flavor to the mixture and ends up being just right.

  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon

  • 1 teaspoon cardamom

  • Couple grinds of fresh pepper

  • Pinch or two of sea salt. The salt I used is my favorite from the Salty Wahine from Kauai.

  • Insides of two whole vanilla beans

  • 1/2 cup of chocolate chips. I used a more milky chocolate, as this is what I had around. You can use whichever level of cacao you like.

Instructions

  • Grind up your almond and flax meal using a Vitamix or any other blender. Just add the whole almonds with flax seed and blend for a few seconds.

  • Pit the dates by slicing them first. I didn’t do this, but trust me, you don’t want to blend them and have giant pits that you have to fish out of the blender.

  • Add in all the wet ingredients to the blender. The almond butter, coconut butter, medjool dates. Pulse a few times just to get a nice consistency.

  • Add in spices and the insides of the vanilla beans. This was the first time I’ve used vanilla beans. Slice them length-wise and then with a small spoon scrape out the inside and add to the mixture.

  • Blend and pulse for several minutes until all the ingredients are blended together.

  • Add chocolate chips and blend until they are chopped up. I like bigger pieces of chocolate in there, so don’t blend too much.

  • Scoop out spoonful sizes of the mixture and shape into bite-sized balls. Store in the refrigerator,

Enjoy!

RecipeSamantha Clemans Hoback1 Comment