Cherry Pie Bites
Mmm…cherry pie! It just never gets old, does it? As much as I’d like it to be, cherry pie isn’t exactly athletic performance fuel. But, these little cherry pie bites sure can be.
There is nothing earth-shattering here, but they are tasty indeed. Over the weekend, I was messing around with sunflower seeds, and I decided to use sunflower seed butter to make an energy bite/ball. Sunflower seeds are generally cheaper than almonds or cashews, but they work just as well, and I quite like them. If you don’t have sunflower seeds, just use whatever nuts you have on hand.
I made these in my little Ninja Pulse, which continues to impress with its high power but smaller footprint than the Ninja Professional Blender. They are the perfect pre-workout energy boost, along with their more coconutty cousins.
Cherry Pie Bites
Makes: 18 balls
Time Required: 10 minutes
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
- 13 Medjool dates, pitted
- 1/2 cup dried cherries
- 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut (optional)
- 1 cup uncooked rolled oats
- 1/4 cup brown rice syrup
Method
- In a Ninja Blender or food processor, blend the sunflower seeds until they are chopped up fairly well – you don’t need to take it all the way to sunflower butter
- Add the dates, oats, cherries, and coconut (if desired) and blend until thoroughly combined
- Add the brown rice syrup and blend until it all comes together in a big “blob”
- Pour out onto a sheet of wax paper or a clean surface
- Use a knife and cut off small sections at a time – roughly 1 inch by 1 inch – and roll into balls with slightly damp hands
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator
Nutrition:
These are not “low cal” by any stretch of the imagination, but are just about perfect replacements for energy gels. This for the energy balls without coconut.
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