Flexible. Satisfying. Date sweetened.
If you’re looking for a quick protein ball that lasts well in the fridge, is great for lunch boxes,
and doesn’t blast your blood sugar sky high, this is it.
OK, so this may not be the lowest carb protein ball, as it’s yummied up with dates, but it isn’t the highest either, and each ball packs a decent nutritional punch with 3mg of iron (19% the recommended daily value) and 7g of protein for 6g net carbs. And it’s crammed full of nuts and seeds, which are just soooo good for us.
I’ve been using this recipe for years. It’s a real ‘throw whatever you have in the blender’ recipe, just stick to the volume ratios and it’s super flexible. The volumes of seeds, nuts, butters and dried fruit in the recipe can be replaced with other seeds, nuts, butters or dried fruit, so it’s very handy for using up things that are lingering in the cupboard.
With just a quick blend in a food processor, these balls have a nice, slightly crumbey, cookie-dough texture, it becomes more chewy the longer it’s blended. I like to stop before it gets really really sticky. A food processor is really the best for this recipe, but check the notes on the recipe for some tips on blending dates in different types of blenders.
I hadn’t eaten these in quite a while, since I started to focus on blood glucose management in fact, and I DID expect it to rise my blood glucose a little. I was pleasantly surprised to see it just gave a gentle little nudge upwards on my CGM. No big spikes. See below 🙂 (Always note this is how I react, and everyone’s body is different).
For comparison, I’m including the impact of one single Fibre one Bar, which has also got 5g net carbs, but just 1g protein. Both pictures are over a 2hr timeline, and my own real food protein balls are the clear winner in terms of blood glucose management.
So if you’re looking for a handy bite or something for the lunchboxes, check what you’ve got lurking in the cupboard and give these a shot.
Cookie Dough Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 2 cups seeds (Use any! I used a half cup each of pumpkin, sunflower, hempseeds and sesame seeds)
- 2 cups nut butter (or a little more than 2 cups nuts)
- 1 cup dates (loosely packed)
- 15 - 20 g 100% dark chocolate (or about 1/3 - 1/2 cup cocoa)
- 1 tsp coconut oil (melted)
- 1 tsp vanilla essence (optional)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (not optional!)
- 2-4 tbsp warm water (or espresso coffee)
- Coconut, cacao, nuts etc for dipping
Instructions
- Blend the seeds to a flour / biscuit crumb texture. Remove from blender and put aside.
- Place the unsoaked dates in a high speed food processer, and blend on high speed until as crumb like as possible. (See notes below)
- Scrape the sides, add the seed flour and blitz again.
- Scrape the sides, add the nut butter, melted coconut oil, sea salt and vanilla essence and blend on medium speed to combine.
- Add espresso coffee/warm water and blend on medium speed until well mixed and just holding together. The quantity of liquid needed will vary according to how much moisture is in the dates, add in increments of 2 tbsp.
- At this stage the mix will be like a slightly crumbly dough, which is where I like it best. (Blending for longer will release more oils and it will become oilier and more like a butter)
- Remove, form into 2 logs. Slice each log into 12.
- Squeeze each part into a ball.
- Roll lightly in cocoa, coffee, chia seed, coconut or whatever you love.
- Refrigerate for a few hours to firm before eating. Stores easily for a week in a sealed container in fridge.
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