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These quick, no-bake snack balls are rich in nutrition
Low iron levels? These Iron Bites should do the trick.
They are chock full of whole foods that naturally contain large amounts of iron.
The ingredients came together easily in our Vitamix. They are bite sized and perfect for snacking.
Go make yourself a batch and notice how much more energy you suddenly have!
A delicious treat that solves a common problem
For years my family (including myself) thought I was a “low-energy” person. Although my skin would tan in the summer, I always had a kind of washed-out look. I’d bruise easily and heal slowly.
Turns out, I was just really deficient in iron.
There’s a classic story from my childhood in which my pediatrician says she has no idea how I am alive and breathing with levels so low.
I had been a vegetarian for years at that point. And was used to people saying “you don’t eat meat? how do you get protein and iron?” To which I would reply “I don’t know… cheese?”
Making sure my diet was balanced was not a huge priority.
So I took iron supplements. For years.
I didn’t like the way they made me feel at all, but I knew anemia was not fun either.
Through college I continued a vegetarian diet and a daily iron pill.
But guess what? My levels were still low. I was still lethargic and pale and still bruised like a peach.
Until I decided to skip the supplement and eat my iron instead.
I googled foods that had high levels and added them to my diet.
Instant success.
Never has a change in diet impacted my daily life so drastically. I suddenly had energy!
Energy led to working out which led to wanting to live a healthier life in general. It led to balancing my meals, and caring about what I put into my system.
It led me to where I am today.
Which is 6 months pregnant with the highest levels of iron I’ve ever had. I swear my doctor almost high-fived me the other day.
Iron in an integral nutrient for a fetus and many pregnant women are lacking.
They check your levels over the course of 9 months. Making sure you’re giving your baby it’s best chances for development.
I’ve been getting my daily iron from things like our morning green juice and our detox salad. But I also wanted to create something that was quick & easy and helped ensure I was getting my daily dose.
So without further ado, may I introduce the Iron Bite.
I have crammed every (non-vegetable) food that is high in iron into a 2-bite snack. And I gotta say, they are delicious.
They remind me of Kind Bars: sweet, sticky and nutritious.
I threw all of the ingredients into our Vitamix. This is one of those recipes where you’ll need a tamper. Not sure they will come together without it.
Go make a batch of these nutrient-rich, delicious morsels for anyone in your life who is lacking in iron (especially those pregnant mommas)!
Recipe
Iron Bites
A 2-bite iron-rich snack that's sticky and sweet.
Ingredients:
- molasses - 2 Tbsp.
- dates (pitted) - 6 whole
- apricots (dried) - 3/4 cup
- dark chocolate (bar or chips) - 1/4 cup
- flax seeds - 1/4 cup
- pumpkin seeds - 1/4 cup
- cashews (raw) - 1/4 cup
- almonds (raw) - 1/4 cup
- oats (rolled) - 3/4 cup (+1/4 cup for garnish)
- coconut (flaked unsweetened) - 1/4 cup (+1/4 cup for garnish)
Instructions:
BLEND
- Add molasses, dates and apricots to Vitamix container.
- Ramp from variable speed 1-10.
- Use the tamper to push ingredients into the blades from the corners.
- Blend on high for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the rest of the ingredients.
- Pulse on medium 15-20 times to combine ingredients.
ROLL
- Mix oats and coconut on a small plate.
- Use your hands to roll golfball sized pieces of the mixture.
- Roll in the oats and coconut.
- Snap a pic and tag #lifeisNOYOKE
- Enjoy immediately or cover and eat within the week (freeze for up to one month).
Useful tips for Iron Bites
If you don’t like one of the ingredients, omit it!
If you don’t have one of the ingredients, make them without!
These bites have so many good things packed in, so don’t worry if you’re missing a couple.
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These were great! I didn’t add the chocolate because unfortunately, I’m taking a break from chocolate for a little while… which is no way to live, but I’m trying it :p I did have to add just a tiny bit of water at the end, and that was perfect, and I soaked the dates beforehand since that seems to help when I use the food processor. I don’t (yet) have a Vitamix.
Someone mentioned oats hindering iron absorption, but from my limited understanding, I think pairing with vitamin C (which apricots have a lot of) makes it where you can absorb the iron.
I’m excited about these. Like you, I don’t eat meat and my iron has been low… I tried iron supplements, but they tear me apart, so I have to figure out a natural way to get iron from my diet. These are a perfect addition and easy to make and delicious! Thank you!
I’m so glad these are working for you!
These were a giant fail. Way too dry, couldn’t form balls. You’d have to add water when you do the first mix with dates, apricots and molasses. I also added peanut butter and only used 1/2 cups of oats.
Oh no! I’ll retest the recipe this week to make sure there isn’t an error.
They worked for me 🙂 my only deviation from the recipe was to use sunflower seeds instead of cashews. I don’t have a vitamix so used a food processor, but that worked just fine (took a bit longer though)
This one might actually work best in a food processor.
Do you know exactly how many mg of iron we would get from these?
We find that because of the availability and range of ingredients for our international audience the best thing to do is put your actual ingredients into an online nutritional calculator. That way your info will be accurate and you’ll know exactly how many mg of iron the balls you made will be!
Haven’t tried these yet, and i know my post is a couple years late : / but do you use the dry vitamix container or wet? Thick stuff is always super tough to scrape out of (and clean) the 64 oz wet container…
If you’re looking to make smaller batches, go for a 48-ounce container. For scraping, we like the under blade scraper, but are in the process of showing how this red scraper is actually better.
Is 1 ball a day enough
I made these for my daughter and she said they were delicious! Thank you
I’m so glad, Manny! They are a delicious little treat 🙂
They look delicious but if you don’t have a Vitamix can you use a blender?
Most of our recipes you can use any blender for. This one you really need a high-powered one and the tamper that’s specific to Vitamix. This recipe works well in a food processor is you have one of those!
Hi, what is the nutrition information of each ball?
Hi Sandy, we find that because of the availability and range of ingredients for our international audience the best thing to do is put your actual ingredients into an online nutritional calculator. That way your info will be accurate.
This is such a delicious recipe – thank you!!
Our pleasure!
I made these today and they were delicious!
I did have to do a couple of alterations though – despite following the recipe, I felt they were too dry to roll into balls so I added 1/4 of water, 1 tbsp of peanut butter and 1 tbsp of coconut oil. That seemed to work super well for the texture and ill definetly be making them again. Thank you for sharing!
Interesting, if anything ours sometimes turn out too sticky. Great troubleshooting though, hopefully your comment will help if anyone else finds theirs turn out too dry.
Can I add rice flakes along with this ,which is high in iron that you added in this recipe and also I need your nutritional value for protein, energy,fat,iron and vitamins . Can I use to grind it in mixer grinder or food processor please reply me it will be useful to my project .and also give some more ideas about iron rich food recipes
What’s great about these is that you can really add whatever you want based on your nutritional needs. This is a great food processor recipe!
I thought dark chocolate and oats inhibit iron absorption? I’m confused…I thought you had to wait an hour or 2 before you could eat chocolate or tea after a meal?
Hi Joyce, I am not a trained nutritionist. Just someone that needed more iron in their diet and threw together all of the ingredients that would taste good together and were high in iron. Please consult a professional about absorption levels etc.
How many calories per ball?
Depends how big you make them and which ingredients you include. It’s best to put your own ingredients into an online food calculator (we’ve noticed nutritional value varies greatly country to country).
Small comments:
1. I used a food processor rather than a Vitamix. Proves I need to upgrade … but still worked out. And the burning smell from the food proc motor will disappear soon enough.
2. TOAST YOUR DRY INGREDIENTS. I dry toasted the oats and coconut used for rolling separate to the other dry ingredients (minus chocolate) that I toasted in 2t coconut oil.
3. Wet hands for rolling.
I made these for my wife. Unfortunately, I have issues with gout and her need for iron and my need to avoid excess iron conflict, but I snuck a ball. I am an endurance cyclist, and I think these would be awesome for cycling though.
Great ideas, Craig. And yes, these are awesome little bites for endurance sports (or even something like camping).