Carrot Pecan Energy Bites — A Naturally Sweet, High-Fiber Snack
As I’ve been working on increasing the amount of fiber I eat while keeping saturated fat low, I’ve been experimenting with simple recipes made from whole foods—things I can throw together quickly that actually taste good.
These Carrot Pecan Energy Bites were one of those experiments, and they turned out delicious!
They’re naturally sweet from Medjool dates and carrots, with pecans adding that rich, nutty flavor that makes them taste a little like carrot cake. Oats add even more fiber and give the bites enough substance to make them a satisfying little snack.
There’s no added oil or refined sugar, and each bite has only about 80 calories and 0.36 grams of saturated fat.
Carrot Pecan Energy Bites
Makes: 11 balls
Serving size: 1 ball (approximately 28–30 grams)
Nutrition Per Ball
- Calories: ~80
- Fiber: ~2 g
- Protein: ~1.2 g
- Saturated Fat: ~0.36 g
Ingredients
- 207 g shredded carrots (about 1 large and 1 small carrot)
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
- 1/2 cup pecan halves
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of salt
- 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
In a food processor:
- Shred the carrots first. Then…
- Place the oats, dates, pecans, cinnamon, salt, and vanilla in a food processor or high-powered blender with the shredded carrots.
- Process until everything is finely chopped and beginning to hold together.
- Divide the mixture and roll it into 11 balls, approximately 28–30 grams each.
- Refrigerate to firm them up and store them chilled.
A Little Fiber in a Sweet Bite
One of the things I’m discovering with a higher-fiber lifestyle is that fiber doesn’t have to mean eating a giant bowl of bran cereal!
Carrots, oats, dates, and pecans all contribute fiber to these little bites. At about 2 grams of fiber per ball, eating two gives me around 4 grams of fiber for roughly 160 calories.
They’re also sweet enough to satisfy that desire for a little treat without loading the recipe with refined sugar or saturated fat.
They aren’t particularly high in protein on their own, so when I want to make them part of a more protein-focused snack, I can pair one or two with something like my Easy Strawberry Greek Yogurt Smoothie. That gives me the sweet, chewy carrot-pecan bite I want while the nonfat Greek yogurt supplies the protein.
For me, that’s what this new way of eating is becoming: not a collection of complicated “diet” recipes, but finding quick, easy foods that taste good and help me naturally work more fiber and protein—and less saturated fat—into my day.
And if something tastes a little like carrot cake along the way, even better!
