Happy Earth Day! + No-Bake Energy Balls

I don’t think today could be any more beautiful outside! Too bad I spent the majority of it in a sneezing fit thanks to my allergies. However, I recuperated enough to go outside with Isaac for the second half of the day.

In honor of Earth Day, I wanted to update ya’ll on our garden. Just a couple of posts ago, I blogged about starting the new garden beds. It’s amazing how quickly everything is growing! In particular, the bed with yellow squash is overflowing with large leaves!

And the beginning of a baby squash…

That’s the only actual veggie/fruit growth I’ve had so far. Although, I have tiny flowers on my watermelon plant and white flowers starting to grow on my bell pepper plants.

 

And my herbs are growing wonderfully as well. I’m determined to perfect a pesto recipe, so I’m sure I’ll strip the basil soon

So after doing some work in the backyard today, I decided to try a new snack recipe. My coworker had made these from a recipe she saw on Pinterest. She brought some to work, and I was in love! They are so easy to  make and are bake free! That’s great for me because well, I’m not the best baker .

 

No-Bake Energy Balls

Adapted from Smashed Peas and Carrots

Ingredients:

1 cup oatmeal

½ cup almond butter

1/3 cup honey

1 cup coconut flakes

½ cup ground flaxseed

½ cup mini chocolate chips

1 tsp vanilla

First off, I could not find ground flaxseed. I use regular and tried to grind them with my food processor. Not sure how well it worked, but they tasted fine anyway.

Mix everything into a medium bowl until evenly combined. Place in refrigerator and chill for 30-45 minutes. Once chilled, remove and form into balls. Enjoy! Told you it was easy .

While I thought they were absolutely amazing, they were (dare I say)…a little on the sweet side for me. I used sweetened coconut flakes on accident, so the next time I make these I will use unsweetened. Also, I would have loved to use dark chocolate chips, but the store was out of those .

A couple of tips:

-I couldn’t exactly roll mine into balls after waiting 30 minutes. They were a bit too wet, so I added some more oats (unmeasured). I put them back in the refrigerator for 15 more minutes (note the range mentioned above), and they were better after that.

-These can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week in an airtight container.

This recipe is easily adaptable. Feel free to substitute different ingredients but be sure to incorporate a good ratio of wet and dry ingredients. Depending on what ingredients you use, these balls have the potential to be packed with fiber as well as energy . All three of us enjoyed these!

How was your weekend? Do you like to bake?

Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Selene