I don’t have a ton of time in the morning before I have to race off to work, so when it comes to breakfast, my go-tos lately have either been a smoothie or homemade peanut butter oat bites (form them into squares or, if you have more time to prep, roll them into balls).
Boy, do these delicious morsels of plant based goodness do the trick. I especially enjoy them with my morning cup of coffee. They’re so easy to pop in a glass storage container just before heading out the door.
Peanut butter oat bites are also a great snack to fuel up before or after a workout.
Plus, they are so simple to make … It takes 10 minutes or less (seriously), and they’re chock full of super seeds like chia, hemp and flax. They’re also raw so there’s absolutely no baking required.
I typically make my peanut butter oat seed bars at the beginning of the week and (if I’m lucky) they’ll usually last me until Friday (that is – unless I eat them before then because they’re soooo good).
So how do you make them? Here’s a quick visual of the process and the full recipe is below. Happy eating!
Ingredients
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup medjool dates (I recommend those with pits b/c they're more moist ... but pit before using)
- 1/2 cup natural peanut butter
- 1 tbsp chia seed
- 1 tbsp hemp seeds
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tsp organic vanilla extract
- ~2 tbsp unsweetened almond milk (use as needed - can substitute with other non-dairy milks)
Instructions
Freshly grind 2 tbsp of flax seed in a high speed blender (like a Vitamix) or coffee grinder (which is what I typically use). (NOTE: Do not pre-grind rolled oats)
Add all ingredients except almond milk to a high speed blender or food processor. Blend together. (NOTE: I find it necessary to use the Vitamix blender tool for this step).
Add almond milk 1 tbsp at a time and blend mixture again. (NOTE: You may need more or less almond milk depending on what kind of peanut butter you're using, etc. The mixture should not be too crumbly or too wet … It should be just moist enough so the ingredients will stick together in the next step.)
Once well blended, place mixture into a glass storage container. I typically use a Pyrex 6 cup rectangular container. Press down with the back of a spoon to flatten mixture surface.
Cover container and put into the fridge for about an hour or overnight to settle. Afterwards, slice into squares, or if you prefer, form the mixture into balls between the pals of your hand. (I prefer the squares because they take less time) #lazy