Exactly one month ago, I woke up, groggily reached for my iPhone, and just about fell out of bed. On the lock screen, a notification from Twitter read that I had received a tweet from @gooddaymelissa: Hi I’m a reporter with @GoodDaySac love your blog! Would you be interested in coming on our show?
No longer asleep after that adrenalin rush, I jumped out from under the covers, opened my laptop, and started browsing through the TV show’s website before typing out an excited response.
We exchanged emails, settled on a few recipes, and set the date for Saturday, November 8. Now fast forward to this past Friday, where I spent hours in my kitchen baking, staging ingredients, and whispering lines to potentially say to the camera. As my first real time on TV, I wanted it to go as smoothly as possible!
Bright and early on Saturday, I packed up my car and drove to the TV station’s building. After loading up my boxes onto a cart, I cautiously maneuvered it around the electrical wires on the studio floor to their kitchen set and began arranging treats on the counters.
One of the camera operators handed me a microphone, and just a few moments later (well, really more like 20 minutes… but the time flew by in there!), Cody, one of the anchors, walked over and started to chat with me about my blog and the skinny pumpkin pie smoothie I planned to make. The next thing I knew, the camera was rolling and we were live!
{If you can’t see the video player above, it’s also available here on the Good Day Sacramento website.} Half an hour later, Melissa, the anchor who originally contacted me, dashed over to film the second segment. She interacted with me as I talked about my peppermint drizzled chocolate fudge brownies, and she even ate an entire one at the end!
{If you can’t see the video player above, it’s also available here on the Good Day Sacramento website.}
Oh my goodness, you guys… That was the experience of a lifetime! Melissa, Cody, and the rest of the Good Day Sacramento family were so warm and welcoming. They immediately made me feel at easy and right at home.
And to everyone who watched, whether on TV, streaming live online, or either of those two video clips above… THANK YOU. From the bottom of my heart. I truly cherish every comment, like, and tweet that I’ve received from you. Your interest and support means the world to me, and it enables me to continue living this dream and turning my greatest passion into my livelihood. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
After the segments finished and I drove home, the adrenalin wore off, and I really needed a pick-me-up to stay awake the rest of the afternoon! Preferably something with chocolate… So I made these Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites!
Healthy snacks really don’t get any easier than this. Just one bowl, one fork, and a handful of ingredients you probably already have at home! The only one you may need to purchase is the protein powder. I prefer Plant Fusion Vanilla Bean. (No, this isn’t a sponsored post—I just really like their products!)
I’m sensitive to the taste of whey, and for those of you like me, there aren’t any funky aftertastes from Plant Fusion’s at all, just pure vanilla flavor. Even better, it’s gluten-free and vegan friendly, so these energy bites are too!
These bites are fairly small. I rolled out 30 balls from the mixture, all less than 1” in diameter. They’re meant to be bite-sized and pop-able, ideal for grabbing whenever your stomach growls or a chocolate craving hits.
If you constantly crave pumpkin chocolate chip cookies like me, these are the perfect solution for avoiding that sugar rush and sneaking in some protein too! They’re lightly sweetened, with a subtle pumpkin and cinnamon taste, and packed with rich chocolate flavor.
So fuel your workouts, stop those afternoon snack attacks, and curb your chocolate cravings with these healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! ?) I’d love to see your energy bites and feature them in my Sunday Spotlight series!
| Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Energy Bites | Print |
- 1 cup (100g) old-fashioned oats (measured liked this and gluten-free if necessary)
- 2 scoops (60g) Plant Fusion Vanilla Bean Protein Powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp Truvia
- 1 cup (244g) pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 2 tbsp (28g) miniature chocolate chips
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats, protein powder, cinnamon, and Truvia. Stir in the pumpkin purée. Fold in the chocolate chips. Divide the mixture into 30 equal parts, and roll each into a ball.
September 2016 Update: I now prefer to make these with ⅛ teaspoon of vanilla crème stevia in place of the Truvia. (It's my favorite sweetener, and I highly recommend it! You'll use it in all of these recipes of mine, too!) Any sweetener may be substituted for the Truvia. If using a liquid sweetener, reduce the amount of pumpkin purée by the same amount OR increase the protein powder by 1-2 teaspoons to compensate.
{gluten-free, vegan, clean eating, low fat, low calorie}
It’s official. You are adorable And you make the BEST desserts. Heck yeah she ate some of those brownies! She’d be crazy not to 🙂 Congrats again Amy! I’m expecting this to be a regular thing now 🙂
And oh my goodness these pumpkin energy bites look incredible! Some of the prettiest energy bites I’ve seen – the orange and chocolate contrast so well. And I’m all over the protein punch! These are dangerously easy … 😉
Aww, thank you SO much Mary Frances! I’m really, truly touched that you watched the videos. You’re such a sweet and supportive friend! 🙂
Just recently found your blog and loving it. The pumpkin energy bites are amazing. Cup of hot tea or coffee and a couple of bites, I’m set with no more hungry, hungries.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
Thank you so much for taking the time to comment Melissa! You’re completely right; I’ve had more than my fair share of these bites with a mug of tea or a chai latte. They’re just so irresistible during the cool fall mornings!
Hi!! So excited I stumbled across your blog and these healthy protein bites. I actually JUST made them and had a quick question … my “batter” was very wet/runny and didn’t really for balls. The mixture could just be plopped won on a sheet. Any idea as to what I did wrong?! Thanks!!
Thank you for stopping by my blog Kayla! I think the wet batter could be due to one or two things. First, I’m not sure how other protein powders soak up moisture. Some may dissolve easily, whereas others don’t and do a better job binding the ingredients together. I’ve only tested this with the Plant Fusion protein powder I listed in the ingredients, so if you used another one, that could be the case. The other thing could be how the pumpkin was measured. If you really pack it into the measuring cup, instead of just lightly spooning it in and leveling, it’s easy to add too much, and that would contribute too much moisture to make the batter wet. Do either of these sound plausible to you? I want to make sure we solve this so your next batch turns out perfectly!
Thanks for the quick response Amy! I used my food scale and your measurements in gs so I don’t think it’s the pumpkin issue …. I used Teras Whey for my protein powder so it could definitely have a different consistency/dryness than Plant Fusion. I’ll try and play around with the recipe and let you know what I find!
Thanks for writing back Kayla! I’d love to hear what works for you with Tera’s Whey, and I hope your next batch turns out perfectly!
Is there a substitute for the true via in the pumpkin bites?
Any granulated sweetener should work. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the energy bites Heather!
Can you use honey instead of Truvia?
Yes! You may need to increase the amount of oats or protein powder by just a tiny bit to compensate for the added liquid. I hope you enjoy the energy bites Amy!
I made these and they have been in the fridge for an hour and still not hard enough to pick up. Is there a trick to these?
I’m sorry the energy bites didn’t turn out for you; that must have been disappointing Stephanie. Did you use whey protein powder, by chance? This energy bite recipe will only work with plant-based protein powders. Whey-based protein powders never set and remain runny, which sounds similar to your problem.
I made these today and same issue. Too moist to roll. I plopped and hopefully they’ll harden in the fridge overnight, but I doubt it. Used Whey protein.
I agree on the taste of whey. It stands out. I’ll look into buying the plant based protein you suggested.
If whey powder was substituted in this recipe, the energy bites will not harden, even if left in the fridge. I highly recommend the Plant Fusion protein powder I used; it doesn’t have any strange or funky tastes! Hopefully you’re able to purchase it, and I hope you enjoy the energy bites made with it Darci!
Are we really supposed to add 2 tablespoons of cinnamon to these? We did and it about burned our mouths and tastes nasty. They look so yummy but I think that measurement is incorrect. Just don’t want somebody else to ruin their attempt. Thanks!
You’re welcome to adjust the amount of cinnamon to suite your tastes April! I love cinnamon, but I understand that not everyone else enjoys it quite as much. 🙂
Are there any substitutes for the powder? I don’t like that kind of stuff even if the substitute was powdered sugar or something a little more (for lack of a better term) normal that I might already have in my pantry.
The recipe was specifically designed for protein powder, so no other substitutes would turn out as well. You’re welcome to try a combination of flour and sugar, but I don’t know how much of each you would need. I hope you enjoy the energy bites if you try them Mitzi!
I am using a different protein powder than you used. Do you have a measurement for 2 scoops?
Also, it looks like you use several soy or plant-based protein powders… Is there one that would work in all of these types of recipes on hour blog? Or use Anything plant-based? Or do Bob’s Red Mill (from one of your other recipes) AND Plant Fusion at least work interchangeably? I’d like to make these – and if they dont quite set, I can just freeze them, and just take a few from the freezer at a time. (That worked w your choc chip cookie dough bars that remained a bit soft)!!
See my previous response to another comment of yours for the information regarding scoops. 🙂 I haven’t tried interchanging the PlantFusion protein powder and Bob’s Red Mill soy protein powder, so I can’t guarantee what the results will be. I like them both for different reasons and for different uses, so I keep both on hand. I hope you enjoy the energy bites!