Monday, March 22, 2010

Protein Balls

Lest you think all I snack on around here is cookies and pie :), I thought I’d offer up one of our favorite, in-between meals munchie—Protein Balls!  These taste great and are so versatile.  Just use whatever you have on hand—after the basic ingredients, that is.
Basic Ingredients:
1 cup nut butter—I prefer almond but any will do...peanut, cashew
1 cup honey
1 cup protein powder—chocolate is especially yummy :) but regular is great too.

Add-In Ingredients:  (4 cups total—create your own combination!)
Sunflower seeds
Raw pumpkin seeds
Sesame seeds
Flax seed
Peanuts or cashews (chopped)
Chocolate chips
Granola
Oatmeal
Raisins
Dried cranberries or cherries
Oat Bran
Wheat Germ

Directions:

1.  Mix together the basic ingredients in a large bowl:  nut butter, honey and protein powder.

2.  Add 4 cups total of the add-in ingredients.

3.  The more dry ingredients you add, the stiffer the mixture gets.  You want the protein balls to stick together when you roll them, but you don’t want them to be so sticky that they won’t hold shape.  Add more oatmeal, wheat germ or oat bran if your mixture is too gooey.  Add more honey if your mixture is too dry.

4.  Roll the mixture into balls about 1 inch in diameter.  This is the tedious part—so get the kids involved!

5.  I roll ours in raw coconut, but this is optional.

6.  Refrigerate the balls (or freeze any extra).  You can stack them and separate the layers with waxed paper.


I'm usually up by 5:00 a.m.  I am not ready to eat that early in the morning, but I do enjoy a couple of these with my tea about 6:30 or so until everyone is up and ready for breakfast.  They are also great to eat after a workout or kids swim lessons.  Anytime, really...