Pumpkin Peanut Butter Coconut Bites
I love having handy healthy snacks around the house. We don’t have a lot of unhealthy foods around the house anymore, between me having a variety of food allergies and just not buying any packaged foods, it makes it almost necessary to create simple, natural and healthy snacks for treats…and it also keeps us from craving unnatural processed foods.
If you have seen some of my other recipes, everything is pretty much revolving around pumpkin. Although I am using canned pumpkin for most of my recipes (which canned pumpkin, tomatoes and coconut milk is about all I get in a can – all organic, too.) I’m sure you could use real pumpkin, but I like the convenience of having it already pureed and ready to go (and I think it tastes better, too, which I’m sure if I roasted my own pumpkins properly, I am sure they would taste better.)
So, in honor of having a pumpkin treat recipe, I decided to experiment with the food processor and some of my favorite things and came up with these. I have seen a lot of similar recipes to this, so feel free to modify it to make it work for you!
**It’s important to note that if you are celiac or have a wheat or gluten allergy, you want to make sure the oats are gluten free, as while oats do not contain gluten, there is a high likelihood of cross contamination with gluten or wheat. I shared what kind I use below. I also only use organic peanut butter (peanuts are a crop that has been known for high use of pesticides and fertilizers, so I always get organic all natural peanut butter.)
Naturalita Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups Gluten Free Old Fashioned Rolled Oats
- 1/2 cup organic unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1/4 cup organic maple syrup
- 3/4 cup organic peanut butter
- 1/3 cup organic pumpkin
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 2 Tbs Raw Cacao Nibs (Optional, but a healthy upgrade from chocolate chips)
Create it Naturally
- In your food processor (I use this one) grind the rolled oats and unsweetened coconut until it is a flour like mixture. Add in spices.
- Add in maple syrup, mix well. Then, add in peanut butter and pumpkin. You might have to scrape the sides to keep it mixing together.
- Add in Raw Cacao Nibs or dark chocolate chips (if preferred). Mix well.
- Roll by hand into small 1 inch balls. Place in a glass container to store.
- Store in the refrigerator and grab 1-2 when you crave a healthy treat.
Enjoy your Naturalita treat!
If you decide to make these, please let me know! As always, I feel free to make your own modifications. You can also use almond butter in place of peanut butter. I am allergic to almonds, so chose to use peanut butter for these!
You could also roll them in raw cacao powder or raw unsweetened coconut or even in cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice. You choose! Get creative!
Although I don’t have kiddos, these would be a fun one to make with your kiddos so they can use their hands and create their own healthy treats!
