It’s hard to believe, but I’ve continued with my daily green juice for nearly a year now. It helps jumpstart my day, but I must ‘fess up to still being hopelessly addicted to my beloved coffee. Maybe it’s the coffee voiding the green juice, but by mid-afternoon I usually need an energy boost.

I made these no-bake energy blasts (named by one of K’s friends who happened to be over while I was typing this up) and they live up to their name. I slightly modified this recipe by replacing the honey with brown rice syrup (left over from the healthier rice crispy treats), and adding a little dried bing cherries and slivered almonds. I also bought whole flax seeds instead of ground by mistake, but it wasn’t an issue at all.

These are delicious! And kid-approved! A seven-year-old and eight-year-old both extolled the flavor, and this is after I told them that these are on the healthy side as far as snacks go. I popped one in my mouth and savored the notes of poppy seed (from the chia seeds?) mixed in with the sweet/tart zing of the dried fruit and mellow nuttiness of the pistachios and almonds. Increasingly I’m preferring brown rice syrup as a sweetener because it’s not as cloying.

My food processor didn’t like blending the dates, syrup, chia seeds and flax seeds though. An ear-splitting grating noise exploded the first couple of seconds, then it slowly and painstakingly churned the mixture into a semi-smooth mush.

That was the only hiccup, however, and these are so easy to make — my favorite kind of recipe. I’m piling a bunch in containers to keep in the fridge (they’re supposed to last a couple of weeks chilled). Now I’m ready for the afternoon slump!