A few weeks ago, a fellow preschool mom reached out as she was making energy bites for shared snack. On top of being really appreciative of the communication, I was intrigued with the recipe she found. It was very easy to make “Ollie friendly.” Even so, our rule at preschool is that Ollie doesn’t have any homemade shared snacks. It’s far too risky with manufacturing and labeling practices here in the US and cross-contamination risk from other kitchens. Parents have a list of safe, prepackaged options and are encouraged to let us know in advance if they’re bringing in something homemade so we can prepare something similar for Ollie. He also has a big box of safe snacks there at all times. It’s worked really well for us so far.

Getting back to these allergy-friendly energy bites, I first made these following the recipe the mom shared so that Ollie could indeed have something similar. I for sure heated the coconut oil and soy butter too much and the chocolate chips I added simply melted. The result was a super sweet energy bite. Ollie loved them, but I was a bit stressed about the sugar. I went to work to create our own recipe with less sugar.

As compared to other recipes I’ve seen, this only has one source of sweet, Don’t Go Nuts chocolate soybean spread. I eat Don’t Go Nuts Slightly Sweet soybean spread on an English muffin just about every morning. I love that it is organic and from a food allergy family. It’s also often 20% off on Amazon! I skipped the honey, maple syrup, and chocolate chips that are in many other recipes. The energy bites are delicious without any more sweetener.

We use Nature’s Path organic oats as they’re a very responsive and seemingly allergy-friendly company. Same goes for the coconut flakes from Let’s Do Organic, which are produced in a facility with coconut only. We do some shared lines as per our allergist, but I will always go for the product with the least amount of risk when possible.

These energy bites are a great option to involve your child in cooking. You simply mix all of the ingredients together and then ball them up. Fair warning, the second part gets messy! This mixture is not easy to roll into balls. You have to squeeze and shape each sticky mass into a ball. Trust me though, it’s worth it!

Print Recipe

chocolate soy butter energy bites

These energy bites are allergy-friendly and delicious. Using only chocolate Don't Go Nuts soybean spread as a sweetener (and source of protein), they're sure to be a healthy, kid-approved snack!

Prep Time

25 minutes

Cook Time

30 minutes (cool time)

Servings

bites

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups organic oats we use Nature's Path
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1/4 cup hemp seeds
• 1/2 cup flaked coconut we use Let's Do Organic
• 1/2 cup Don't Go Nuts chocolate soybean spread softened
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Prep Time 25 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes (cool time) Servings bites Ingredients 1 1/2 cups organic oats we use Nature's Path 1/4 cup flax seed meal 1/4 cup hemp seeds 1/2 cup flaked coconut we use Let's Do Organic 1/2 cup Don't Go Nuts chocolate soybean spread softened 1/4 cup melted coconut oil 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

1. Mix the oats, flax, hemp, and flaked coconut in a bowl
2. Mix in the softened chocolate soybean spread, melted coconut oil, and vanilla.
3. Form mixture into 2" balls. The mixture will be very messy to form and I've found the larger bites are easier to work with.
4. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a mat and let chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
5. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.