Summer Body Raw Energy Bites (that help breastfeeding & baby can enjoy too)

Once you think you've got the naps, milk and generally keeping you both alive down, something changes, just to keep you on your toes.  In the early days having snacks I could eat with one hand whilst feeding was essential but then eventually I wanted to get fit and get back into my old clothes for the summer. Snacking on hobnobs was not going to help me achieve this.

Being a herbivore I was turning to mini flapjacks in a bid to keep my milk supply up and my energy. It certainly did the trick but they are extremely calorific and so I wanted a snack I could eat guilt free.

I experimented with these no bake, raw energy bites until I hit upon the perfect recipe and have now got various flavour bites to go to whenever an energy kick is needed. An added bonus is that these are ideal for baby led weaning, as they are the right size for little hands, full of healthy stuff and perfect for taking out in packed lunches.

You'll need the following ingredients:

> A good handful of sticky dried fruit: either apricots, prunes or medjool dates

> A scoopful of oats

> A large tablespoon of peanut butter

> Some poppy seeds or chia seeds for bite

> A good handful of nuts; cashews or almonds work best

> Cocoa powder

> Desecrated coconut

> You may also want to add a splash of vanilla essence, depending on how sweet you like them

The first batch of energy bites I made were inspired by snickers. For this recipe use a dark dried fruit, mejool dates work best. Add peanut butter, the oats and a handful of nuts and whiz them together in a food processor. I like this one for all of the attachments you get and it can literally power through anything with ease.

You should now have a nice sticky substance that can be rolled into balls in the palm of your hand. Put some cocoa powder in a bowl, roll the ball in it and then roll it in some desecrated coconut. Voila. You'll get your sweet fix without the guilt. 

I didn't want to give baby Flossie cocoa and whole nuts, so I adapted these slightly to suit her. In the early days of weaning babies often need a lot of P fruits, so prune, pear, peach etc to help keep them regular, so I made a batch out of dried prunes but have since created some fruitier bites out of apricot. 

To make them take a handful of prunes, the oats, add a large spoonful of organic smooth peanut butter, add some chia or poppy seeds and whiz it up in a blender. You can then sprinkle over some desecrated coconut.

 La Creuset casserole dish is from here and my wooden chopping board similar from here.

Babies seem to love them and they've been a real life saver for both of us when we've needed a healthy snack to go to.

What are your healthy go to snacks? I'd love to hear any ideas for what other combinations we could use.