These raw Healthy Chocolate Chia Energy Bites are a delicious take on the famous Larabar. They are naturally sweetened, made with only 4 ingredients and rolled into bite sized balls for easy popping! Did I mention, they are ALSO Vegan, Paleo and Whole 30 friendly!?

Do you have a food store near you that you just enjoy being in??

Well here on the east coast, we have Whole Foods. It is basically an organic, all natural grocery store.

I would camp out in there if that was legal.

I love it that much. I think it's just the atmosphere. There is just something so...."fresh" about it all. I'm not just referring to the food. The people that work there are always SO happy. I don't know if that's a requirement to work there but they are just so pleasant. If it wasn't so expensive I would shop there ALL the time.

So one day when I was perusing down the aisle, I came across these fruit bars called "Lara Bars".

Being the "label-reader" that I am, I noticed it said "three ingredients". I thought to myself, what?! How?!

So I read the back of each one and noticed that each bar had dates and nuts in them.

The other ingredients varied from coconut, to cinnamon, to vanilla, etc. The important thing to point out is that the DATES are what hold the bar together so well!

Genius!

Dates are naturally sweet AND an awesome binder. So you do not need any added sugars OR anything to hold the bars together.

As I always do, I immediately started thinking of how I can make them at home.

And sure enough, these Healthy Chocolate Chia Energy Bites are the delicious result in ball form!

Healthy and Just 4 Ingredients!

I have never purchased dates before.

I think of dates as being 'outdated'. Is that just me? They seem like a food my yiayia would have in her home...

But close-minded me discovered just how versatile they are! Really, these date balls could have anything added in them, as long as they have the dates to hold everything together while adding the right amount sweetness.

The nuts are optional!

A lot of recipes out there have coconut added. You can definitely do that but I find the texture of them to be better without it.

You can also add ANY kind of nuts you like!

*If your looking for another healthy energy option, try my Healthy Peanut Butter Oat Energy Bites !

Peanut Allergy?

If you have a peanut allergy or think someone may have one, I would recommend replacing the nuts with something else such as oats, coconut, flax seeds or any other seed such as pumpkin or sunflower! Add as much or as little as you'd like!

What Benefit Does Chia Seed Have?

Don't be fooled by their teeny size! Chia seeds are rich in omega 3's and antioxidants. They also have fiber, protein, iron and calcium! You can't go wrong! 🙂

I like to throw chia seeds in my smoothies in the mornings! You could also throw them into muffins, cookies, pancakes, really anything!

You can find chia seeds at any grocery store these days because of how popular it is.

Here is what I did...

Pulse your ingredients together and use a mini ice cream scoop to form your balls!

Roll and coat in more nuts, cocoa powder, chia seeds or leave as is!

📖 Recipe