As a family, the Coles are prone to hanger.

Hanger (n): A lethal combination of hunger and anger, the result of waiting so long to eat that your blood sugar drops to dangerously low levels, impairing both your mood and your judgment.

This is often a problem.  We’ve entered a new stage in our household, where the kids are involved in more after school activities and we are always on the go.  At the same time, I still have two picky eaters that avoid most meat and veggies at all costs.

As we got busier, I noticed a big uptake in their snacking, but they were mainly eating processed foods with little or no nutritional value.  (I’m talking about you, Goldfish crackers and Veggie Sticks.) These snacks wouldn’t stick with them for long, so snack time was often followed by an inevitable crash, and then I had hangry kids on my hands again.  I decided to go searching for the holy grail of after school snacks. I was looking for delicious, healthier choices that would give Mia and Miles the energy to get through the afternoon.

We tried lots of healthy muffins and smoothies, but the kids were not interested.   Then, I found the recipe for these “Energy Bites” and I swear, I heard angels sing.  I first found the recipe here, but I have made a few changes to make them a bit less sweet.  I cut down the amount of honey and added extra oats to make them heartier.

These energy bites are a hit with the whole family.  Truth be told, I think my husband and I eat more of them than Miles and Mia.  Hey, we get hangry, too! I often make a double batch and store them in a sealed container in the fridge for the week.

No Bake Energy Bites Ingredients:

1 and ½ cups oatmeal

1 cup natural peanut butter

¼ cup honey

2 Tablespoons chia seeds

1 Tablespoon vanilla

¼ cup mini chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine ingredients in a bowl.  Stir. Roll the mixture into bite sized balls – I like to use a small cookie scoop to do this step.  Place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and then place in the refrigerator to chill. Each batch makes 16-20 bites.  

We love these – they’ve definitely transformed our snack times and made me feel better about what they are eating when we are inevitably on the go.

What are your healthy snack options?

 

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Category: Food

Tags: Karyn