Making quinoa for dinner tonight? Save time and energy by cooking once and eating twice. Lori Bumbaco, RDN, CSO, LDN, Oncology Dietitian at NorthShore, suggests reserving some leftover quinoa for a nutritious and delicious time-saving snack. These no-bake bites are perfect on-the-go snacking, while boosting energy to avoid those “hangry” moments.  They can be made gluten-free, vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, refined sugar-free or nut-free with a tweak of some ingredients.

No-Bake Quinoa Energy Bites (Recipe makes 12 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked quinoa
• 1 cup quick cooking oats
• ¼ cup refrigerated almond butter*
• ¼ cup maple syrup
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• ¼ cup mini chocolate chips – optional

Directions:

1. Line a small baking sheet with wax or parchment paper and set aside.
2. Combine all ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Stir until well incorporated.
3. Using your hands, roll the mixture into individual small balls. The recipe makes about 12 energy bites that are approximately 1.5 inches in diameter. Any size will do, however!
4. Place the small balls onto the lined baking sheet and place in the freezer for 4 hours or overnight.
5. Enjoy straight out of the freezer. You may wish to wait a minute or two to let them thaw out a bit so they are not too hard. But don't leave them out too long or they will start to get mushy.

*Any nut or seed butter will do.