Foodie Pen Pals = Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites

It’s that time of the month again…FOODIE PEN PALS! Of course, this comes at a totally erratic and crazy time for me. I am currently trying to plan and organize (along with my awesome 4th grade team) an outdoor, overnight classroom trip that leaves Thursday, complete 1st term report cards by tomorrow, make chocolate cakelets for a team member who has been ill, grade papers, clean house, blog, read the new J.K. Rowling book, coach Girls on the Run and teach!! All of this can wear a girl out!! Even Wonder Woman would have had difficulty keeping up with my to-do list these days!

So when Mackenzie from Wealth is Health sent over her Foodie Pen Pal package this month, I was so excited to see that she had included these amazing energy bites among all of the other goodies. I had heard of energy bites before, but had never actually tried one. They were packed full of flax seeds, berries, pumpkin seeds and oatmeal, while held together with peanut butter and honey. They were sweet, nutty, and oh so good for you. So after I gobbled them up (in a matter of days, mind you), it got me thinking…how does one make energy bites?

To my surprise, it’s not as hard as you might think! First, you have to think of a type of theme you want your energy bites to be. The ones in my FPP package were mixed berry energy bites. So I thought since I was on this ginormous pumpkin fix, I would make some sort of pumpkin spice energy bites. Then, you have to choose the type of seeds, nuts, dried fruit, or chocolate chips you want to add. I choose old fashioned oats, flax seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds, and walnuts. Next up are your spices. I added cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and pumpkin spice. Finally, to hold your energy bites together, you will need peanut butter and honey, a bit of vanilla, and to make it a bit naughty, I rolled my bites in white chocolate. (Although my friend, the music teacher, says that white chocolate is good for you in moderation…something about antioxidants). :)

My pumpkin spice energy bites lasted about as long as the ones Mackenzie sent me (mostly because I shared with my teacher friends), but at least now I know how easy it is to make them! Thanks Mackenzie for the foodie inspiration!

By the way, Foodie Pen Pals turns 1 today! I stumbled upon the Lean Green Bean by accident a few months ago! They have over 1,000 foodies and bloggers alike from around the globe that send foodie packages once a month to an assigned pen pal. Every month you get a new pal, so it is a great way to network and make friends, not to mention try out the food fare from around the nation. If you are interested, please take a moment to visit Lindsay over at the Lean Green Bean!

Pumpkin Spice Energy Bites

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Peanut Butter & Co. White Chocolate Peanut Butter

1/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/3 cup honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 cup old fashioned oats (uncooked)

1/2 cup golden flax seeds

1/2 c ground pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

1/2 cup ground walnuts

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Directions:

1. Combine the peanut butter, pumpkin puree, honey, and vanilla in your standing mixer. Mix until ingredients are well blended.

2. Combine the pepitas and walnuts in a food processor, and pulse until smooth and combined.

3.  With your mixer on medium low, add spices one at a time. Once blended, stir in the oats, flax seeds, pepitas/walnut mixture, and sesame seeds until evenly combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

4. After your mixture is cool, use a small cookie scoop or spoon to shape your energy balls. I used a small scoop and then rolled them into balls about 1 inch in diameter. Or to make them square, like the mixed berry energy bites, you can line a small baking pan with parchment paper, and press the mixture evenly into the pan, let it cool, and then cut into bars.

5. If you would like to dip your energy bites into white chocolate, I would suggest freezing the bites for another half hour before you skewer and dip them into melted chocolate.

6. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. (Storing them in the refrigerator helps the energy bites hold their shape.)

 

Foodie Pen Pals

When I was in elementary school, I had a pen pal in the United Kingdom. The details are a bit fuzzy on how I got my pen pal or for how long we kept in contact, but I used to love reading her letters and comparing how different life was here in the States. That’s probably where my love for all things UK came from. For some reason or another, we stopped writing to each other, but I never got over how fun it was to receive something in the mail. I think my pen pal contributed to my obsession for Amazon as well. :D

I stumbled upon the Lean Green Bean last month and was pleasantly surprised to hear that they had a pen pal system in place for foodies just like me! They have over 1,000 foodies and bloggers alike from around the globe that send foodie packages once a month to an assigned pen pal. Every month you get a new pal, so it is a great way to network and make friends, not to mention try out the food fare from around the nation.

This month, I was to send a foodie package that contained all the local goodies in and around my town to Jessica at The Enlightened Kitchen and I was to receive a package from new foodie friend, Lynn from Spotsylivania, VA. I had never heard of Spotsylvania before, so I looked it up. According to its county page, in addition to its beautiful rural landscapes, Spotsylvaniais is known as the “Crossroads of the Civil War” and is home to many historical resources including the Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania County Battlefields National Military Park. I, personally, would love to visit the Historical Courthouse and Old Jail in the Spotsylvania Courthouse area.

Here is the foodie package I received from Lynn. :)

She also attached a sweet letter and a recipe for Cake Mix Cookies. She included a few of the ingredients to make the cookies, so I gave it a go! They sounded delicious and reminded me of the post I made last week of the  deep dark chocolate cookies I found on Pinterest because of the way the confectioner sugar cracks when it bakes.

I also decided to add the gourmet Virginia Diner peanuts she included in my foodie package to give a bit more crunch. I just pulsed 1/2 cup in the food processor and added it to the batter.

They were so yummy! And they tied in perfectly with the vanilla cinnamon coffee Lynn sent as well!

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

1 box vanilla cake mix

1 8oz. Cool Whip or other preferred whipped topping

1 egg

confectioner sugar

Directions:

Mix all ingredients together except the sugar in a large bowl. Using a mini-ice cream scoop or small spoon, roll out a ball of batter about 1/2 of an inch. Drop it into the confectioner sugar and coat well.

Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

Overall, Foodie Pen Pals was a great experience this month and I can’t wait to try it again in September! If you are interested in participating, please check out Lindsay’s blog, Lean Green Bean. You won’t be disappointed!