Healthy choice?

2016 is starting out as a year of changes around here. I know, I know, that's pretty standard early-January stuff, New Year's resolutions and blah blah blah. Truth be told, I didn't even do New Year's resolutions this year. I love tradition and generally make them because I feel guilty if I don't, but this time I have thrown caution to the wind and instead just "resolved" to work on a few areas that need improvement.

Like my laundry routine.

My temper...

And yes, that old stand-by of resolutions, losing weight.

I don't typically go public with my plans to lose weight, because I typically fail and typically avoid embarrassment wherever possible. But who knows, maybe putting it out there will help me stay motivated.

So far, I've joined Planet Fitness and been to the gym a whopping two times in the past five days. Hmm, perhaps a little room for improvement there. But for a gym noob, I wasn't *displeased* with the 3.5 miles I logged on the treadmill and bike yesterday. So there's that.

As I was rolling out of the gym and heading to the grocery store - starving to death and ready to purchase ALL OF THE THINGS - I recalled that I had, indeed, started a Pinterest board dedicated to healthy-ish snacks, and thought I'd better take a look.

Side note: I am a Pinterest junkie. Oh, this is one failing that I refuse to address. I've wasted so much time on Pinterest that I even have a Pinterest board dedicated to people who waste time on Pinterest. At the time of this post, I have 222 boards, arranged alphabetically (of course), and need to come up with four more since my rows are uneven at the bottom. Yes, this is unhealthy. No, I don't care. Come visit me on Pinterest, if you dare.

Anyway, one of the first pins on that board caught my eye immediately: No-Bake Energy Bites from Cooking Classy. Oh, those looked goooood. Peanut butter, honey, oats, coconut, and chocolate chips? YES, please! They also contain ground golden flaxseed meal, and that did trip me up a bit. I had never heard of the stuff, and was reasonably certain that our little Food Lion store in middle-of-nowhere southern Virginia wouldn't have any. Perused the baking aisle, only to be disappointed...but lo and behold, I found a bag in the health food weirdos/unfortunately gluten-free section of the store, and hurried home to whip up a batch.

Well, a double batch. Because the comments assured me that these things were outstanding.

Even though the sweet, sweet promise of "no bake" rang true, it didn't mean that prep was necessarily easy...let's face it, measuring out peanut butter and/or honey is never a good time. But I did it (with help from my little kitchen assistant, Milly - she who fearlessly mixes meatloaf and sausage balls with her bare hands) and put the dough in the fridge to chill.

Then I pinched off a little bit of the dough, while the bowl was still in the refrigerator, because I just couldn't wait to try it. And then I pinched off a little bit more, because MAN this stuff is good.

After it had chilled, it was time to roll it into balls...and most of them made into a Tupperware container for later snacking. All but one or two or...okay, half a dozen or so. UGH.

Which leads me to the title of this post...have you heard the old joke that asks how many Healthy Choice desserts you have to eat before they're no longer a healthy choice? Yeah, that's kind of how I was feeling about these Energy Bites. Probably not such a healthy snack if I can't stop shoveling them into my face.

Now that the novelty has worn off, I am able to restrain myself a little better...and they are so good that I had to share the recipe, even though adding a warning was a downright necessity. You WILL eat a bunch while you're making them. Not just when you need a little bite of something. Just so you know.

If you give them a try, let me know what you think! I still have a large bowl of them chilling in the fridge, and will be making more as soon as I run out. If the husband and children discover them, they may not last long at all...