Easy snacking in a flash with naturally sweetened Carrot Cake Energy Bites. These little bites of goodness taste just like carrot cake without the guilt!
I have to be honest with you – as someone who cooks for a living, I’m horrible at feeding myself. I’ve talked about this problem in the past, with promises to fix the solution and I still haven’t found one. I’m usually good about getting a decent breakfast in most mornings and dinner is never a problem but in between those two meal times all bets are off.
On days that I work in my studio at home, I’m either glued to my computer for hours until it’s 2 or 3pm and my stomach starts rumbling or I’ve been cooking and photographing and sort of nibbling along all day already as it is. So by “lunchtime” I just hunt around the fridge until I cobble together something that resembles lunch or stops the rumble grumble in my tummy. I won’t even talk about what production days for my bake shop look like – that’s usually 8-12 hour days without a break. I get into the groove and there’s no stopping me until the work is done.
Since I’ve always been a snacker and snacking at home how morphed into my afternoon meal time routine, I’ve started to really appreciate the ease of energy bites. My first foray into making them was back in January and it provided the perfect snack when I was running around and too busy to think about pulling together anything else to eat.
Just grab, go and eat!
So suffice to say I’ve jumped on the energy bite bandwagon and I’m at it again with these Carrot Cake Energy Bites. Just as the name implies, they taste like little bites of carrot cake without the extra calories and sugar laying around!
These guys are loaded up with fresh grated carrots, oats, dates, almond butter, pecans, cinnamon, ginger and for those who can’t resist it just a little touch of white chocolate on top.
They take all but 15 minutes to put together and so matter how busy your day may get, you can find some time to pull these guys together. The best part is you can totally make it gluten free if you want by swapping out traditional old fashioned oats for gluten-free and keep it vegan with the right type of chocolate. It’s completely convertible to your type of diet. Love coconut, go ahead and toss a little bit in the mix too for a true carrot cake experience!
Store these guys in the fridge and you’re snacking goals are taken care of the next week or two, assuming it lasts that long!
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pitted dates (about 10-12)
- 1 cup shredded carrots
- 1 cup old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/4 cup pecan halves
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- pinch of salt
- 2 ounces white chocolate, melted (optional)
Instructions
- Add the dates to a food processor with about 2-3 tablespoons of water and pulse until the dates are finely chopped.
- Add the remaining ingredients, except the white chocolate to the food processor and pulse until everything clumps together easily into a ball.
- Remove from the food processor and using a cookie scoop - scoop about 1 to 1 1/2 tablespoon size balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Wet your hands slightly and roll each bite into a ball.
- Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to firm up and if desired then remove and drizzle white chocolate on top.
- To store keep the energy bites in the refrigerator for about 2 weeks or the freezer for 1 month in a ziptop bag.
