“What is the biggest problem you’ve had living in your sorority house?” A question I’ve been repeatedly asked over the past year. Immediately, the answer I always say pops into my head “I don’t have a kitchen.” Coming from a household where cooking is a part of our daily routine, it was really hard for me to move into a place where I had no access to a stove. Although many dorms on our campus do have kitchens on every other floor in the building, I found that whenever I wanted to cook something, there was always someone using it or the stove wasn’t functioning properly (welcome to the dorm life). Luckily, living without a kitchen for two years now has lead me to discover a whole new side of cooking– non-bake cooking!

Something I tend to miss more than others is homemade desserts. When I’ve had a long day, I want nothing more then to pop some sweet peanut butter cookies or fresh banana bread into the oven to enjoy in under a half hour. My sweet tooth craving mixed with my desire to try and eat healthier in college lead me to discover energy balls.
Energy balls, a term often used interchangeably with protein balls, are a great grab-and-go snack which you can easily prepare a large amount of before. They are also super good for you because they are:

• Low in sugar
• High in fiber
• Dairy free
• High in antioxidants
• High in healthy fats

When preparing these, your main ingredient is going to be rolled oats. Rolled oats are known to lower cholesterol and they are very inexpensive which makes them perfect for a college student budget. Besides this, you can pretty much make a large variety of protein balls from few ingredients. Some of my favorite recipes include peanut butter chocolate, coconut chocolate, apple pie and pumpkin energy balls.

Below are a few of my personal favorite energy ball recipes. Remember that when making them, you’ll mix all the ingredients into a bowl then separate into smaller balls. If you won’t be eating them immediately, you should store them in the fridge to guarantee freshness. Let me know in the comments some of your favorite non-bake recipes!

Recipes:

Pumpkin Energy Balls

Apple Pie Energy Balls

• ½ cup chopped dried apple
• ½ cup dates
• ½ tbsp honey (or other sweetener)
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tbsp cinnamon
• ½ cup toasted pecans
• 1 cup oats

Peanut Butter Chocolate Energy Balls

• ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter.
• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips. (milk chocolate if you want them a bit sweeter)
• 1 cup old fashioned oats.
• ½ cup ground flax seeds.
• 2 tablespoons honey.