New Mama Energy Bites

It's a funny thing that happens when you have a newborn living in your house. All of a sudden you revert to your college ways where it's acceptable to partake in midnight dorm room relay races, sing rowdy songs, and eat {or drink} at all times of the night. Only now you're bouncing on an exercise ball at 2am, hoping your singing and someone's crying don't wake the neighbors, and waiting for the arrival of milk-drunk sleep.

Although I still hold that our little one is a relatively easy baby, as far as babies go, I definitely underestimated a few things about motherhood: 1) sleep deprivation is a serious - and scary - thing. I'm sure we'll laugh about it later, but for the first few weeks I hallucinated {dreamt?} about nursing on such a regular basis I had to start writing down our feeding times so I knew what was real and what wasn't. One minute you think your infant is in your arms and the next your baby morphs into a pillow - it's quite traumatic and not what your new-mama-heart can handle at the moment. And 2) nursing = hunger. Serious hunger pangs at 2am.

In my nesting phase this fall I did a few crazy and unnecessary things --> install new light fixtures, furiously clean the tub <-- but I also did a few things that have this new mama patting herself on the back. There were over a dozen mason jars of applesauce sitting in my fridge when I went into labor, as well as a freezer stocked with a few favorite meals {which we just finished this week, 11-weeks postpartum!}. But whipping up a batch of something tasty to eat in the middle of the night was by far my best move.

Tangent: Let me tell you a quick and funny story about how not to be prepared: It's the middle of the night just two days before my due date, when I awake with some lower abdominal pain. It's not consistent and definitely doesn't feel like labor pains, which typically are felt throughout your entire abdomen. So we call the doctor who agrees, I'm probably not in labor, but since I had some complications during my pregnancy [link] it would be wise to get checked out at the hospital. You know, just to rule out anything bad. But you'll probably be sent home tonight, she says. So we jump in the car and head off to the hospital -- consciously leaving our hospital bags at home. I'm sure you know where this story is going. It's like the typical forget-the-umbrella-and-it-rains story. 

We check in at the hospital and half an hour later learn that I'm 8cm dilated ... we're having a baby! {For those of you jealous of my short, 3.5-hr labor, I also spent 3.5 hours in the second stage of labor - pushing!]. 

These Energy Bites are quick and easy to assemble, albeit a little messy. just mash a couple bananas, add a big spoonful of natural peanut butter, a bit of honey, a cup of oats, and then whatever extras you enjoy. My favorite is chocolate chips, coconut and peanuts. Use a spoon to plop on the pan, but for best results, roll the batter in your palms and coat in extra coconut. This is likely to result in a sticky-finger situation {I recommend you remove all rings first!}.

But aren't some of the best things in life messy? 

Haha, perhaps I shouldn't have alluded to the messiness of childbirth in a recipe post, but I did, so hopefully I didn't scare you away from making these tasty treats! See full recipe below.

New Mama Energy Bites

Makes around a dozen bites

Print this recipe!

Ingredients:

• 2 ripe bananas
• 1 heaping spoonful of (natural) peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup coconut flakes + more for rolling
• optional: nuts, craisins, etc.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. In a medium bowl, mash the bananas, then mix with the peanut butter and honey.
3. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, oats and anything else you'd like to add.
4. For best results, roll spoonfuls into balls and then roll the balls in coconut on a plate. Otherwise you can just plop spoonfuls on a baking sheet (rolling them in coconut helps them stay together and makes for easier eating without making a mess!)
5. Bake on a cookie sheet at 350 for approx 15 minutes or until lightly golden.
6. I like to wrap them individually in saran wrap so I can keep one on my bedside table for midnight nursing snacks, but you can also store in an airtight container (preferably in the fridge) for a few days.

Time:

5 minute prep, 15 min bake