Exploits of a Vegan Wannabe

Sometimes your body and mind  need a pick me up. But, sometimes in the middle of the day (or night or mid morning) I crave chocolate that is decadent and nutritionally barren because it feels like a good idea at the time, when what my body is really in need of is something that is energy rich and nutrient dense. Enter…the Cocoa Energy Bite. I made them up a few days ago to satisfy both scenarios.

Photo By: S. Duquet

I created them with two different types of nuts and sunflower seeds because that is what I had in the pantry. The cool thing is that you can use absolutely any nut or seed you have and they will be magnificent, because nuts and cocoa are a perfect match in any form.  Period. I also added the all powerful Chia seed and for a double whammy a bit of my new favorite thing…Hemp milk.

Cocoa Energy Bites

By: S. Duquet

Ingredients

1/2 C raw peanuts

1/2 C raw sunflower seeds

1/2 C raw hazelnuts

1/3 C cocoa powder (more or less to taste)

2.5 Tbsp peanut butter (Honestly I would have added more but I ran out. Go for it)

4 Tbsp Agave

1/6 C Chia seeds

1/3 Vanilla Hemp milk

4 Dates (pits removed)

3 C Old Fashioned Oats

Make It Happen

~Put all nuts in a bowl and cover with water for two hours and let them soak. *See below for additional soaking info.

~Put Chia seeds and hemp milk in a bowl. Mix, cover and put in fridge to soak. The seeds will soak up all of the milk and become puffy and saturated.

~When nuts are finished soaking (two hours or more for an optimal soak) drain and rinse well.

~Put all ingredients including Chia mixture (but not the oats) into food processor and pulse until well blended but not mushy.

~Transfer mixture to bowl and stir in oats.

~Press into (2) 8×8 pans that have been lined with wax paper or parchment paper (This will make it very easy to remove the bars from the pan to cut) We only have one 8×8 pan so I pressed one square, lifted it out and then pressed the second….no biggie.

Photo By: S. Duquet

~Lift out of pan and cut to desired size and shape. I cut mine into squares then wrapped some of them in parchment for a bite-size on the go pick me up. I put the rest in an airtight container in the fridge for a quickie snack or pre gym nibble.

I think you are really going to enjoy these. They are satisfying and energizing. Keep a few in your bag/desk/car so you can nosh on them whenever you need  a healthful snack that tastes like a decadent treat.

Have a delicious day.

Soaks info courtesy of  SproutPeople.org

Soaks are a seed that never produces a root (sprout) though it has been Soaked, Rinsed and Drained. Any seed that has soaked up water has broken it’s dormancy and begun life and is therefore, one amazingly powerful food, so eat ’em up, sprout or not! Almonds are the best example of a seed which results in a “Soak” instead of a Sprout. Pumpkin, Sunflower and Peanuts are also Soaks.

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