Honey & Peanut Butter Energy Bites

Honey. It’s sweet. It’s sticky. It tastes really good. But did you know that there is a lot of time, work and energy that goes into making and processing honey? Most of us purchase honey from our local grocery store or organic farm and probably don’t put much thought into it.

Not only is honey amazing but it’s also unique. Made by honeybees, it is the one and only human food that is produced by an insect. Keep reading for more unique honey facts:

• 1 pound of honey takes over 500 honey bees making 10,000,000 trips foraging for nectar.
• A worker bee makes about 1/12th of a teaspoon of honey in her lifetime.
• Honey bees don’t fly when the temperature drops below 50 degrees Farenheit.
• A queen bee is queen to over 70,000 worker bees in one hive and lives 3-5 years.
• All worker bees are female and unable to reproduce.
• Drone bees are male and often mate with virgin queen bees. They are expelled from the hive during fall.
• Honey bees swarm when a bee hive becomes overcrowded.
• Honey bees can only see in black & white. That is why bee keepers where white suits.

We love honey in our house and I often purchase it locally from Bear Creek Organic Farm here in the Petoskey area. If I can’t source it locally I always try to purchase organic to guarantee it is 100% pure honey. We use it in a variety of recipes including an Asian stir fry we make once or twice a month and energy bites.

If you haven’t made energy bites before you are seriously missing out. They are only 4 ingredients and only take minutes to make. My kids go bonkers for them and even my husband loves them. They are even great for school lunches!

Honey & Peanut Butter Energy Bites Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 C. quick cooking oats
• 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 C. chocolate chips (optional)
• 1/3 C. honey

Directions: 

1. Combine the oatmeal, creamy peanut butter, chocolate chips and honey mixing well. 
2. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.
3. Use a small cookie scoop to scoop and roll the Honey & Peanut Butter Bites into small balls. 
4. Set on the baking sheet and repeat with the mixture.
5. Place the Honey & Peanut Butter Energy Bites in the fridge to set.
6. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator up to 1 week.

Looking for more recipes using honey? 

• Cinnamon Honey Butter – So easy to make and delicious on any breakfast bread!