Bitten by the Bite Bug

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It seems that everyone and their grandma is making bites these days. I've started doing the same, but quite by accident. About a month ago I realized that we had NO dessert for our Family Movie Night (dessert is critical for Family Movie Night!). There was very little in my cabinets that had the makings of a good dessert, but I recalled making these no-bake peanut butter and cocoa powder cookies a long time ago (like when I was 12) and thought that might do the trick. I found the recipe for those no-bake cookies and realized that it involved melting butter and peanut butter on the stove top. Stove top? I thought. That still counts as baking. I wanted super simple throw in a bowl, stir and eat kind of no-bake. And then I stumbled up this little recipe from Gimmie Some Oven. It was simple. I had all the ingredients. Score.

I used the basic recipe then modified it slightly. I add protein powder, crystalized ginger and cinnamon. I love the spicy-zing of the ginger. So yummy. I also made a special batch for my husband. He asked if I could make each bite to have 20g of protein. Umm. Isn't that like eating a scoop of protein straight up? I'm not sure I pulled off the super high protein content, but I did add extra protein powder and eliminated a few of the things he didn't like: coconut, chocolate chips and chia seeds (how can you not like those?!? I mean I get the chia seeds, but coconut and chocolate?). So his version was more of a peanut butter/ginger/protein ball; equally as good as my coconut and chocolate ladened bites.

No-Bake Protein Bites

1 cup oats

2/3 cups coconut flakes

1/3 cup ground flax

1/2 cup protein powder

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1/2 cup or more chopped crystallized ginger

1/4 cup chia seeds

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup vanilla protein powder

1/3 maple syrup (or more if it is too crumbly)

1/2 peanut butter (or more if it is too crumbly)

1. Mix all dry ingredients.

2. I've found adding the maple syrup first then the peanut butter makes for the best consistency.

3. Roll into balls and refrigerate.

They have become a huge hit in our house and have replaced the bars that I usually by, which saves a bit on the grocery bill. They also double for Family Movie Night desserts when I forget to buy the brownie mix:)

What I love about theses bites is that the possibilities are endless: you can add or eliminate so many different ingredients to really taylor them to your taste buds.

Do you make bites? What is your favorite recipe? --Sarah

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