Lemon Poppy Seed Bites

This was the last of the three types of energy bites that I served at the Team Tony breakfast along with the regular ones and the carrot cake ones.  They're the little brown ones in the middle.

Among the three energy bites (what I called my trio of bites), these were my favorite (and a few other people's faves as well!).  They don't really taste like any of their separate ingredients (I made sure not to tell most people there were dates in them, for instance) but the final result is a delicious blend of bright flavors.  Poppy seeds and lemon zest and juice bring to mind lemon poppy seed muffins, with the added flavors of sunflower seeds, walnuts, and coconut.  Doesn't that sound great?

One change I made was the outside coating.  The recipe called to roll the balls in more coconut, but I found that none of it stuck, so I stopped trying after the first ball.  Feel free to try if you'd like, but I am leaving it out of my instructions.

Everything gets tossed into the food processor - even the dates, which are mostly just there to hold everything together.  The ending result was what I believe were the best of the energy bites.  They are bright, sweet, a tiny bit salty, filling, and healthy at the same time.  I ate the few remaining bites for breakfast the next couple days; they were perfectly portable and easily brought to work.  With the protein from the nuts and seeds, they were a great quick breakfast option!


Recipe:

lemon poppy seed bites
from Dishing Up the Dirt
serves 12 balls (I made mine smaller so I got more out of them)

Ingredients:
1 cup raw walnuts
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds (I could only find salted, and they worked fine; I left out the sea salt)
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup medjool dates, about 10-12, pitted and roughly chopped
1 -2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (start with less and add more if necessary)
1 teaspoon lemon zest
pinch of fine sea salt

Instructions:

1) In a food processor, blend the walnuts, sunflower seeds, and coconut to a coarse meal.

2) Add the dates, lemon zest, lemon juice, vanilla extract, pinch of salt, and poppy seeds.  Process until the mixture forms a rough dough that can easily hold together when pinched between your fingers.

3) Taste test and add more lemon juice if necessary.

4) Roll into small (1 to 1 1/2-inch) balls.

5) Store in an airtight container in the fridge.