No Bake Energy Bites

When there are children in the house, snacks are a big deal. And when those children are growing and active (which is probably all children, come to think of it) a plentiful supply of snacks is often the difference between slamming doors and sneaky smiles, grunts and toothy grins, laughter and tears. It's a fine line to tread, but certainly in our family, snacks are an essential part of keeping everyone fed and watered.

And what are the snacks that go down particularly well around here?

• A bowl of breakfast cereal - It goes without saying that you must walk around with the bowl while eating this, also slurp the milk very loudly and then leave the empty bowl on the nearest flat surface when you've finished the last mouthful. It's part of the deal when you're a teenager, I suppose.
• Rice cakes - Slightly salted are the most popular. Marmite flavoured comes a close second. Unsalted will be tolerated at a push. Mostly these are eaten as they come, but sometimes a smear of peanut butter is involved.
• Water biscuits - 'Carrs' ... remember those? I have to admit that for the first 3 or so years of #1 teenage son's life, I had him convinced that these were in fact 'chocolate biscuits'! The definition of a bad mother do you think? Not sure it's done him any harm and he still eats them by the handful so any scarring would appear to be superficial.
• Cereal bars - You know the things ... dried fruits, nuts and oats held together with something sticky. We get through tonnes of these.
• Arabic breads - Also known as pitta breads in other parts of the world, these are defrosted in the toaster and filled with either peanut butter or Marmite. One is never enough.
• Whatever cakes or biscuits I've been making/trialling - These always get inhaled pretty pronto and are affectionately known as 'sweet treats'.

So, snack consumption around here is always significant but even more so when there is a swimming gala going on. And it was one of the lovely swimming Mums who first introduced me to these No Bake Energy Bites (which, incidentally, I do keep inadvertently referring to as 'No Energy Bites'!) as an alternative snack for hungry swimmers. Or footballers. Or rugby players. Or ballet dancers. Or runners. Or netball players.

I've only ever so slightly tweaked the recipe as these beauties are completely delicious as they stand. But I still wanted to post this as a blogging version of one of those oversized, inflatable pointing fingers that you get at football matches ... coming down from the sky and pointing at these No Bake Energy Bites and shouting at top volume, 'THESE ARE FANTASTIC. REALLY THEY ARE.' Worth having in your repertoire for sure.

So what's the big deal with these No Bake Energy Bites?

• There is no baking, no cooking, no melting, no nothing. This is literally measure, mix, combine and ...... Da, dahhh.
• They are filled with wholesome, nutritious ingredients to give you plenty of slow-releasing energy. Oats, ground flax seeds, chia seeds, honey ...
• They taste drop dead gorgeous - dark chocolate, peanut butter, coconut. Need I say more? And there's not a hint of tasting 'like they're good for you'.
• Perfect as energy/recovery food for sport, great in a packed lunch, ideal for a breakfast on the run - I've even indulged with a sneaky glass of wine!
• These balls will sit in the fridge, as good as gold, until you're ready for them. No drama.

But in our house, there is one problem with these No Bake Energy Bites - they have never lasted beyond the day they were made. Not sure there's an answer for that. Give them a try, and see what shelf life you can achieve. Now there's a challenge ...

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