Chocolate Orange Chia Seed Bites (GF/Vegan)

Honestly is there anything better than chocolate and orange? I love it so much. I can't believe that I haven't posted any recipes with this combo before! These are naturally sweet, have a brownie-like texture with a little bit of crunch, and will cure any chocolate craving!

I don't usually "meal prep" because I like to cook. Even when I've been at work all day, it's a way for me to unwind. But, I do get some grab and go things together at the beginning of the week. I make sure I have things like muffins or granola to eat in the morning before work, when I don't have time for anything else. I also like to have energy bites on hand to take for work snacks or pre/post workout fuel. These kinds of snacks are also great to have around to cure that sneaky sweet tooth. I hate the word "diet" so I'm not even going to use it, but when you are trying to make a change to a healthy lifestyle one way to be sure to fail is to not plan ahead. You're going to want to have something sweet. Our bodies naturally like to have salty and sweet to feel satisfied. I read an article once that talked about our bodies natural desire to have a savory meal followed by something sweet. The study talked about how they served the test group the same meal, then gave half of the people a small amount of chocolate and nothing to the other half. The people who had chocolate after the meal not only said they felt satisfied, but they actully felt full while the people who didn't get chocolate still felt hungry. So, my point here is, don't start a healthy lifestyle thinking you're going to cut out all sweets and be able to stick with it. Don't set yourself up for failure! There are healthy ways to have something sweet and this is one of them!

These are sweet without being crazy high in sugar and have none of the other bad stuff associated with sweets, like butter or flour. They're sweetened with dates and local honey so the sugar they do have isn't even bad! I use organic cocoa which gives a delicious chocolate flavor without any chemicals and cocao even has antioxidant benefits.

The base of these bites is a mix of GF oats, raw cashews, and chia seeds. Oats and cashews have fiber and protein and chia seeds are an amazing little seed filled with all kinds of good stuff. They have omega 3 fatty acids, vitamins/minerals, and protein. When I hear "Omega 3" I automatically think of salmon, but chia seeds actually have more omega 3 fatty acids than salmon so woohoo little seed! You rule! I would suggest making a big batch of these bad boys because they won't last long!

Ingredients

Makes about 12

1 cup GF oats

1/2 cup raw cashews

2 TBSP organic cocoa

5-6 dates

1/2 medium orange- zest and juice

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp honey

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 TBSP chia seeds + more for rolling

Directions

1. In a food processor add oats and cashews. Process on high until the mixture is ground. Add dates and blend until ground.

2. Add all other ingredients except chia seeds and blend to combine, then add chia seeds and pulse a few times to combine. At this point, the dough should form into a ball in the food processor and should be slightly sticky but able to be rolled.

3. Roll to the size you desire. I like to roll some balls in a mixture of chia seeds and orange zest and keep some plain.

4. Store in the freezer and enjoy!

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