Zero Waste Energy Bites with Bulk Ingredients

Often when I'm at work at my desk, I'll have a very intense urge to snack on something sweet. If I gave into it every day, I wouldn't have any room for dinner by the time I got home! I do though, like to keep a few simple snacks on hand that can help curb a craving and are easy to make. One of my favorites is energy bites.

Energy bites are basically granola bars rolled up into little balls that don't need to be baked. If you have children, they will love getting their hands sticky helping you make these treats! Because they are so quick to make, they can also be easily adapted to gluten-free, nut-free, or vegan diets.

Buy the Ingredients in Bulk

Depending on where you live, the majority of the ingredients can be purchased in bulk. If you've never bought something from the bulk bins before, don't worry! I wrote a step-by-step guide to walk you through it. In Seattle and Portland, I had access to all of these items in bulk.

If you don't have access to bulk bins where you live, these are still a delicious, healthy snack to make! You also avoid the individual granola bar plastic wrapping that would come on store-bought versions - so you still win!

Energy bites come in all flavors and you can easily mix and match to suit your taste buds. If you're nervous to start inventing recipes on your own though, I've included three kinds below that I love! You'll see pretty quickly that they all have a similar ratio of wet to dry ingredients that you can play with.

1. Classic Oatmeal Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 2/3 cup peanut butter

• 3 Tbsp. honey

• 1-2 tablespoons chia seeds

• 1/2 cup raisins (or chocolate chips)

• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

• pinch of salt

2. Chocolate Maple Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rolled oats

• 2/3 cup peanut butter

• 1/4 cup cocoa powder

• 1 Tbsp. ground flaxseeds

• 3 Tbsp. maple syrup

• pinch of salt

3. Coconut Almond Energy Bites

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup rolled oats

• 1/2 tsp. almond flavoring

• 1/2 cup shredded coconut

• 2/3 cup almond butter

• 2 Tbsp. honey

• 1 Tbsp. chia seeds/flax seeds (optional)

Ready to try something with a bit more zest? These lemon bars are made using the whole lemon so the rind doesn't go to waste!

How to Make Energy Bites

Making the energy bites is so simple!

For all of the recipes above, mix all the ingredients together in a bowl. Depending on the quantity of peanut butter/honey, they will be slightly drier or stickier. You want them just sticky enough so that you can pack them into small balls.

In your hands, gather golf ball sized amount of the mixture and pack it together. If they're sticky enough, they will easily hold without being put in the fridge. If they seem to crumble a bit, add some more binder (honey, peanut butter, maple syrup) and then place them in a fridge for a few minutes to set up.

Store Zero Waste Energy Balls Inside or Outside the Fridge

You can then leave your yummy energy balls in the fridge to stay cold or at room temperature. They will last quite a while outside of the fridge because they don't have any ingredients in them that spoil quickly. So enjoy at your own pace!