No Bake Oats and Seeds energy bites

Hello.. Hello! Hope y’all are doing well, keeping warm and the year has been going great so far.

I am doing well too. It has been over a year since I have been away from the blog. And, for good reason. I got promoted to being a mom of two – a girl and a baby boy who is now ten months (can’t believe!). Last year has just flown by making space in our lives for our new little man, bending and mending schedules, making peace with the ever demanding sleep cycles (the hardest part!) and growing together as a family of four and parents of two. Yet, when he smiles his toothless smile and tugs at my pant trying to walk his first few steps, every bit of the rollercoaster ride seems worthwhile. Slowly and steadily as his napping schedule seems more predictable, I have the privilege of stealing some much needed time for myself to be back at this cozy space here.

And hence, THIS first post of 2015.

For the most part of last year, I hardly entered the kitchen. When I did, I was overwhelmed by a partly untouched pantry and refrigerator over stocked with myriad ingredients carefully collected in all my blogging enthusiasm driven by well-meaning intentions. So, I started by cleaning up the pantry and the refrigerator and laid hands on a bag of hemp hearts, an half-finished bottle of almond butter with rock hard remnants stuck to the bottom, an unopened jar of Grandma’s molasses, two types of flax seeds (golden and regular), some leftover shelled pumpkin and sunflower seeds. And, this recipe followed.

The fact that each of the ingredients is a nutrition powerhouse in themselves got me excited to make something with them together. Flax seeds are a great source of the right proportion of plant based omega fatty acids and have been found to be very beneficial for women with PCOD as well as arthritis. The nutrients in flax seeds are digested and assimilated well when the seeds are finely ground as the tough outer shell protects the inner seed from digestion. If you’ve eaten flax seeds sprinkled on cereals and such, you’d know what I mean! And since omega-3s are heat sensitive, flax seeds should not be heated or cooked to reap its full benefits.

Similarly, pumpkin, sunflower and hemp seeds are loaded with free radical scavenging antioxidants and immune boosting vitamins and minerals. Oats and almonds are heart healthy. In a nutshell (or seed shell), read tons of health benefits and toxin removal.

This is a healthy tasting bar with slight bitter notes from the natural cocoa and molasses. I like it as it is. If you want it sweeter, go ahead and use more dates or some good quality honey, but no-no to heat please.