Today I’m going to share a snack recipe that has become a staple in my house in the last month or two. I love these energy bites because they’re incredibly versatile. I’ve never made them exactly the same way twice; I just use whatever nuts and seeds I have on hand, and I end up with a healthy snack to last me through the week.
Blood Sugar, Snacks, and Mental Health
Snacks can be an overlooked element of nutrition. Though different eating patterns work best for different people, many find that they feel their best when they eat small snacks between meals.
Diet culture has often vilified the idea of snacking, but snacks can absolutely be part of a healthy diet. In fact, healthy snacks can be the ticket to avoiding big swings in blood sugar throughout the day—an often-overlooked factor in both physical and mental health.
Though we typically hear about blood sugar in the context of conditions like diabetes, it is incredibly common for people without diagnosed medical conditions to experience small swings in blood sugar.
Have you ever felt “hangry”? That’s usually a sign of low blood sugar (e.g. mild hypoglycemia).
Mild hypoglycemia can also involve other mind-body symptoms such as anxiety, irritability, sadness, or generally low mood, low energy (commonly experienced as an “afternoon crash”), and difficulty concentrating.
Whenever I have a client who consistently notices dips in mood or spikes in anxiety during specific times of day, I become curious about their eating habits. While the blood sugar/mental health connection deserves an entire article of its own, just know that small, protein and fiber-rich snacks can make a big difference in blood sugar-mediated mental health symptoms.
Some of the most common reasons for these low blood-sugar mediated symptoms include eating sugary/carbohydrate-rich foods/drinks without adequate protein or fiber (leading to a spike in blood sugar, followed by an overcorrection and then a crash in blood sugar), going too long between meals, inadequate food intake in general (e.g. forgetting to eat, skipping a meal, or just not eating enough for your body’s needs), or exercising without sufficient fuel.
If you suspect that blood sugar dips might be impacting you, preparing some easy, healthy snacks might be your ticket to keeping your mood and energy levels steady throughout the day.
Please note that all of the signs and symptoms I mentioned are indicative of mild hypoglycemia. When hypoglycemia becomes more severe, the signs and symptoms are different (e.g. shakiness, sweating, heart palpitations, dizziness, etc.), and it can become a medical emergency if left untreated. High blood sugar levels are also a concern, but for the sake of keeping this article to a manageable length, I won’t go into detail on high blood sugar today.
Abby’s Energy Bites
If you’re looking to work on daily blood sugar balance, I hope these energy bites will be a nice starting place for you. I find that having some easy-to-grab snacks makes a huge difference in my ability to keep my blood sugar regulated throughout the day, and I hope this snack will help you too.
Although I don’t follow an exact recipe, I will give you my formula for making these energy bites, so you can experiment and make them at home. The reason for this method is simple; if I made the exact same recipe every week, I know that I would quickly get tired of it. My solution was to create a basic formula but change the flavors each week to increase both the variety of tastes and the variety of nutrients.
The base of this snack comes from dates, nuts, and seeds. Dates hold the energy bites together due to their sticky texture, and they provide a bit of sweetness. Nuts and seeds provide the crunchiness, as well as the protein and healthy fat. Optional mix-ins might include cocoa powder, shaved coconut, vanilla extract, sea salt, cinnamon, maple syrup, another dried fruit, or any other flavoring you’d like to experiment with.
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees (F)
Spread your nuts and seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet. I use a Silpat baking mat to prevent sticking, but you could also use parchment paper, or just grease the pan with a healthy oil.
Once the oven is preheated, bake your nuts and seeds for 5-10 minutes until toasted. You’ll know they’re done when they have a slightly golden, toasted appearance. Check on them frequently because nuts can go from perfect to burned fairly quickly.
*Note: Toasting the nuts and seeds is totally optional. The recipe will work just fine with raw nuts/seeds, but I find that toasting enhances the flavor. If you’re short on time, it’s definitely fine to skip the toasting, though.
While your nuts and seeds are toasting, remove the pits of your dates (if applicable). Some dates come pre-pitted, so if your dates don’t have pits, obviously skip this step.
Once the nuts and seeds have had some time to cool, add nuts, seeds, dates, and mix-ins to a food processor. Blend until the nuts and seeds are chopped into fine pieces, and the entire mixture is a sticky texture appropriate for rolling into small balls.
Roll mixture into small balls, and store in an air-tight container for up to a week.
Ingredients:
I will provide some ideas for ingredients in different categories. I recommend picking at least one nut and one seed in addition to your dates. I have never tried the recipe without dates, but I imagine that you could replace the dates with a nut butter to help hold the rest of the mixture together. Mix-ins are optional, but they can add additional flavor (and nutrients).
Nuts/seeds (pick 2-4):
almonds
walnuts
cashews
pecans
Brazil nuts
pistachios
macadamia nuts
hazelnuts
pumpkin seeds
sunflower seeds
hemp hearts
flax seeds
chia seeds
“Glue” ingredient (e.g. what makes the batter stick together. Pick at least 1)
Dates
Almond butter
Cashew butter
Peanut butter
Sunbutter
Mix-ins (Pick 1+ for flavor)
Cocoa powder
Vanilla extract
Maple syrup
Honey
Oats
Cinnamon
Almond extract
Shaved coconut
Dark chocolate shavings
Cacao nibs
Dried cherries
Dried blueberries
Dried apple
Dried cranberries
Sea salt
** For proportions—I don’t usually measure my ingredients. I typically just go by feel, and I use the texture to gauge whether or not I have the proportions right. If the batter is too crumbly/dry, I know I need more dates. If it’s too sticky, I need more nuts/seeds. To give you an idea of proportions, though, last time I made these, I used an entire 9 oz container of dates, and I filled a standard 13”X18” baking sheet with nuts and seeds. The mixture turned out slightly too crumbly, so I added a splash of maple syrup (because I ran out of dates), and that gave it a perfect texture.
Notes:
Dates vary in texture and consistency. If your dates are not very soft and sticky, you can soak them in warm water for 10-15 minutes to improve the texture.
If the energy bites are too crumbly, and the balls aren’t holding their shape well, it’s helpful to add another sticky “glue” ingredient. If you have extra dates, the easiest solution might be to add a few more dates to the mixture. You could also add a touch of maple syrup, honey, molasses, nut butter, or some other dried fruit. While it’s good to be mindful of glycemic index and sugar content, I have found that sometimes just a teaspoon of maple syrup helps the texture immensely, and divided among an entire batch of energy bites, it will not add much sugar to each individual ball. On the flip side, if the bites are too wet or sticky, add more dry ingredients. It’s more of an art than a science.
For optimal nutrition, it can be helpful to eat a wide variety of plants in order to obtain a wide range of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients. This recipe is a great way to pack several different plant foods into one snack. If possible, I recommend trying for at least one nut and at least one seed in this recipe. However, I have been known to cram 5-6 different nuts/seeds into my energy bites. Experiment and see what you like.
Refrigerating these might help them hold their texture better, but I typically store these energy bites in a Pyrex container at room temperature. Since I am fairly new to making these, I have only ever made them in the winter, but in warmer months, they might do better stored in the refrigerator. If you make more than you can eat in one week, you could also freeze some for later. I have found that they tend to start going a little stale around the one week mark.
Due to the high fiber content of these energy bites, you might experience some digestive distress if you eat too many. They are also fairly calorie-dense, so depending on how large you shape them, 1-2 balls per sitting is typically a good serving size.
Nutrition Info:
1. Dates: Dates contain natural sugar (primarily fructose), which provides a quick source of energy. However, they also contain fiber, which slows down the absorption of sugar, helping to prevent spikes in blood sugar levels. Dates are also a good source of potassium, magnesium, vitamin B6, and iron.
2. Protein: Nuts and seeds are excellent sources of plant-based protein. Protein is important in blood sugar balance because it helps slow down the digestion and absorption of carbohydrates, and it makes the snack more satiating.
3. Healthy Fats: The nuts and seeds in these energy bites provide healthy fats, including monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats. These fats help to keep you feeling full longer and slow the release of sugars into the bloodstream, contributing to more stable blood sugar levels.
4. Fiber: Both dates and seeds are high in fiber, which is beneficial for digestive health. Fiber helps to regulate blood sugar levels by slowing down carbohydrate digestion and sugar absorption.
5. Antioxidants: Nuts, seeds, and optional mix-ins like cocoa powder and dried fruits are rich in antioxidants. These compounds combat oxidative stress and inflammation in the body, which is beneficial for overall physical and mental health.
6. Micronutrients: This snack is a powerhouse of various vitamins and minerals. For example, magnesium found in nuts and seeds aids in glucose metabolism and energy production. Depending on the specific ingredients you choose, this snack might also provide zinc, copper, vitamin E, selenium, manganese, calcium, iron, and omega-3 fatty acids.
I hope this post was help for you, and I hope you enjoy these energy bites! Feel free to share this post with someone else who might benefit and help us grow our Mind Body Maven community.
P.S. Do you have a favorite healthy snack? I will likely do an article in the future compiling a list of snack recipes, so feel free to comment below with your favorite recipes! Happy snacking!