These vegan and gluten free Salty Maple Nut Energy Bites make a delicious and healthy snack or exercise fuel.
Give them a try before/during your next endurance workout – or simply toss some into your bag to fuel your workday.
I’m always looking for new and interesting ways to fuel my workouts – and/or my workday – and these energy bites fit the bill perfectly.
If you’re a fan of the salty sweet combo, get out your food processor and make these ASAP. You won’t regret it.
The star of these snack bites is pure maple syrup, my favorite natural sweetener.
In addition to being delicious (tip: try maple syrup in coffee), it’s also an excellent natural energy source that provides you with the simple carbohydrates that your body will break down for fuel during exercise.
It’s also featured in my Homemade Citrus Sport Drink recipe, in fact!
Maple syrup also contains beneficial vitamins and minerals, like manganese, riboflavin, zinc, and potassium, making it an especially great fuel source for exercise (or, again, just daily life).
Have a couple bites before you go on a run or eat some during a long bike ride – whatever works for you.
Related: check out my posts on What to Eat Before and After a Long Run and What to Eat During Long Runs.
These are extremely easy to make – throw everything in a food processor, process, then roll them into ball shapes. That’s it!
You can make the bites as big or small as you like – whatever works.
Once you make them, I recommend putting them in small bags and storing them in the fridge so you can easily grab and go.
I threw some in my bag on the way to the office today and enjoyed them as my morning snack, but they are great during or before a long run, too!
Outside of the pure maple syrup, these are awesome because they are packed with healthy fat and some protein from the nuts and chia seeds, and fiber from the dates. The puffed brown rice adds an awesome crunch to the mix, too!
Here’s the full recipe. Enjoy it!
Salty Maple Nut Energy Bites
These vegan and gluten free bites make a delicious and healthy snack or exercise fuel. Give them a try before/during your next endurance workout!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup toasted or raw almonds (unsalted)
- 1 cup raw walnuts
- 1 cup pitted dates, packed
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup chia seeds
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 2 cups crispy brown rice cereal
Instructions:
- Combine all ingredients except rice cereal in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture is very finely chopped and holds together.
- Add the brown rice cereal, pulse again until the cereal is evenly incorporated and finely chopped.
- Remove the mixture from the food processor bowl and knead/mix lightly to make sure everything is incorporated. Roll the mixture into balls (wet your hands to help prevent sticking).
- Eat and enjoy! To firm up the balls, refrigerate them.
Notes:
I’m not normally a calorie tracking advocate, but if you are looking to have these bites during endurance exercise, I know it's helpful to make sure you are meeting your fueling needs. So for that reason I’ve included the nutrition info below. Enjoy – and happy fueling!
Nutrition info (per ball, when made into 15 balls): 180 calories, 11g fat, 130mg sodium, 20g carbs, 4g fiber, 11g sugar, 4g protein
Thank you to Pure Canadian Maple Syrup for sponsoring this post!
Looking for more maple syrup exercise-related recipes? Check out the Canadian Maple site for a whole slew of maple fitness recipes.
Want to know more about maple in general? Check out my recap from the Canadian maple press trip I went on this spring: Adventures in Pure Canadian Maple Syrup.
And here are recipes already on my blog that are sweetened only with maple syrup:
- Homemade Citrus Sport Drink recipe
- Matt’s Maple Cinnamon Latte
- Healthy Peanut Butter Power Cookies
- Almond Butter Banana Breakfast Bars
- Oatmeal Banana Coconut Cookies
- Maple Cinnamon Roasted Veggies
- Nutty Protein Granola Bars
- Spiced Cranberry Compote Oatmeal
- Vegan & Gluten Free Granola Bars
- Oatmeal Banana Pumpkin Cookies
- Banana Nut Quinoa Muffins
