Chocolate Protein Balls

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Chocolate protein balls

vegan and gluten free

For quite some time, energy balls were my go-to snack, especially pre-workout since they fueled my runs very well. This year, I have been focusing a lot on strength training along side my running, so getting protein in during the day has become even more important. Being in college now, these protein balls also became a great snack for me to have during some of my longer classes when I didn’t really want to pull out a fat sandwich during my lecture these protein balls became the best snack as they were discrete, satiating and not too dense… and delicious.

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Since there is protein powder in this recipe, it’s important that you use one that you know you like since the flavor of the protein powder comes through. My favorite protein powder right now (and the one I always use in this recipe) is the Pulsin Cacao and Maca protein powder. But feel free to use which ever protein powder you like best. And if you’re unsure of which brand to buy and you don’t want to commit to buying a full container of a kind you’ve never tried, I recommend seeing if your supermarket or health food store sells protein powders in single use or sample sized packages. That way you can try a few out and find your favorite!

Also, get creative! Use this recipe as a base recipe to understand how much of certain ingredients are needed, but try adding different nuts, dried fruits or protein powders. I’ve used a salted caramel protein powder in this recipe and it was great too.

Author:

Chocolate Protein Balls

Ingredients

  • 6 small dates or 4 large ones
  • 3 tbsp water
  • 3 tbsp oats
  • 1/4 cup almonds or cashews
  • 2 tbsp protein powder (I used chocolate flavored)
  • 2-3 tbsp cacao
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Instructions

  1. In a food processor, blitz the almonds for a few seconds until they begin to form a meal consistency. Then, add the oats and blend for a few more seconds to combine. Add the protein powder, cacao, cinnamon and salt and blend again until the mix is a floury consistency and everything is combined.
  2. Add two dates, 1 tbsp of water and the vanilla. Pulse a few times. Continue adding dates and water until a moldable dough forms. If the dough is too dry, add another tbsp of water.
  3. Form the dough into balls. Store in a tupperware container and keep in your refrigerator. These last 4-5 days.
rachel domb