Hello, all! I have to admit that this past year has been crazy- but definitely in a good way! Over the past couple of months, I graduated from my dietetic internship (yay!), married my best friend (yay yay!), and passed my registration exam (yay yay yay!!). You may now call me Mrs. Amanda B., RD.
Married life has been wonderful. I am very lucky to have a loving husband who doesn’t mind trying my kitchen experiments, even when they don’t turn out quite right.
Photo by Wayne Cowan Photography
My husband has a couple of food obsessions. One is peanut butter. He eats PB after breakfast and dinner every day. Needless to say, if I eat even a smidgen of PB, it will not go unnoticed. I still can’t figure out how he knows. Another one is yogurt and gluten-free oatmeal. Two weeks ago he swore off rolled oats and decided that he was only going to eat quick oats for breakfast. Which left his adoring wife with a whole entire bag of gluten-free rolled oats sitting in the cabinet. I just couldn’t let the chance to experiment with a bag of rolled oats go to waste!
I researched no-bake energy bites and found a great recipe here at Smashed Peas and Carrots, which I used as the basis for my recipe. I wanted to make them slightly lower in sugar by reducing the amount of honey; despite the reduction, they were still sweet! I also increased the amount of vanilla- I promise you that the extra vanilla is worth it. I didn’t have all of the ingredients from her recipe on hand, so I threw a few ingredients that I did have together with the oats, shaped them into balls, christened them “oat bites,” and threw them in the freezer.
Later that night, my husband opened the jar of PB and I heard, “Did you eat peanut butter today?”
Guilty. I proceeded to tell him to relax, his precious PB was safe, and made him try my delicious concoction.
Last weekend, all of my oat bites were gone and he was asking if I was planning on making more. I smell success. Today, I made a new batch and adjusted the recipe to include chocolate chips. You can be creative with add-ins like flax seed, shredded coconut, chia seeds, cinnamon, or nutmeg. You can easily swap the gluten-free oats for regular rolled oats if you do not have to eat gluten-free. I like to pop them in the freezer- they make a great cool treat on these hot July days! Loaded with fiber, it’s a healthy way to satisfy your sweet tooth.
Recipe: Gluten-Free (GF) Oat Bites
Serves 6 (4 bites per serving)
Recipe makes 24 bites
Ingredients:
1 cup Gluten-free Rolled Oats
1/4 cup Creamy Peanut Butter
1 tbsp Honey
1 tbsp Gluten-free Vanilla Extract
1 tbsp Chocolate Chips (optional)
- Measure out and thoroughly mix all ingredients in a mixing bowl. The mixture should be crumbly, but slightly sticky.
- Make small balls by scooping up a rounded teaspoon of the mixture. Using your hands, squeeze and shape the mixture into a small ball. The mixture should stick together and not fall apart. If the mixture will not hold together, add a little more peanut butter to the mixture.
- Place the balls into a container or zip-loc bag and refrigerate or freeze to harden.
The Stats:
Per 4 Bites: 139 calories, 16 g carbohydrate, 7 g fat, 5 g protein, 2 g fiber
The Apple & Amanda 