Almond-Date Energy Bites

One of my favorite energy/health bars out there is the Lara Bar. They are gluten free, dairy free, soy free, vegan, and kosher, but that's not why I love them. My reasons are much simpler - they taste amazing and every bar contains five or fewer ingredients. If you've ever taken a look at some of the health bars out there, you have probably noticed that some look like a short novel, which makes Lara Bars' five-ingredient feat even more amazing. 

But the simplicity of these bars, and the $2/bar price tag, got me thinking how easy it would be to make something similar. And it was, though I made a few adjustments in both ingredients and shape for simplicity's sake. Instead of making bars, I rolled the mixture into tablespoon-sized balls and rolled them in sesame seeds for a little extra crunch. 

Once you get this recipe down, which shouldn't take long, I can imagine a whole host of variations, like substituting walnuts for almonds, adding in raisins, or substituting almond butter for the peanut butter for those with peanut allergies. I've been eating these little energy bites atop my yogurt at breakfast and taking a couple along for a mid-afternoon snack at work and can safely say they both taste great and provide a little extra energy throughout the day.  

Almond-Date Energy Bites 

Ingredients: 

*10 oz. whole dates

*6 oz. slivered almonds

*1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

*1 Tbsp. honey 

*1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Sesame seeds, cocoa powder, or graham cracker crumbs 

Instructions: 

*In a food processor, process the dates and almonds until mixture is finely ground into even 'crumbs' (3-5 minutes). 

*Add the peanut butter, honey, and ground cinnamon and process until the ingredients are evenly combined. 

*Scoop out the mixture by heaping tablespoons and shape into balls. Then, roll the balls in the sesame seeds, cocoa powder, or graham cracker crumbs. 

Happy Cooking!

Madison