Chewy Chocolate Protein Balls

Anyone else here in big need of snack ideas?? 🙋‍♀️ With breastfeeding Harlow, I’m extra hungry, causing me to need more food more frequently. And if I’m honest, I get tired of eating the same things over and over. There are times that I’ll walk into the kitchen to get something to eat and think “I’m SO hungry, but what do I eat that I haven’t already eaten at least once today?” 🤪I need something filling, satisfying, and easy that also leaves my body feeling good. That’s where these chewy chocolate protein balls come in. Think cold, chewy no-bake cookie. They’re the perfect combination with plenty of protein, carbs, and fat as well as fiber from the oats, chia seeds, and banana. I’ll make up a batch, throw them in the freezer and then grab a few for a delicious and filling snack.

This Christmas season, Isaac and I decided to make various traditional Christmas foods at our house. So I’ll be munching on homemade snack mix (I finally found Bugles at the store. Who knew they were so hard to track down?!), sausage balls, and crackers and cheese over the next few weeks. If you have any current favorite snack ideas, comment below. I’d love to hear what you’re munching on.

Hope you enjoy these as much as we do!

Author: Ashley Smith, RD

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Chewy chocolate protein balls

Dense and chewy, these chocolate peanut butter oat protein balls are the perfect combo to provide protein, carbs, and fat in a convenient and delicious way!

Prep time: 15 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 15 M

Ingredients

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/4 cup chia seeds
• 1 banana, mashed
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup collagen peptides
• 1 cup oats
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I use peanuts and almonds)

Instructions

1. Stir together the peanut butter, honey, chia seeds, and mashed banana.
2. Add remaining dry ingredients and stir until combined. Form into balls (or use a small cookie scoop), and freeze on a baking sheet with parchment paper for an hour. Transfer to a container or freezer bag. 
3. I recommend eating straight from the freezer!!

Favorite Oatmeal Recipes Roundup

Sooo...let's get real. I like oats. A LOT. One look at my instagram account and you'll discover that very quickly. I went scrolling through my account to get some inspiration about my favorite recipes and holy moly. It made me want to eat oatmeal for every meal for the next week!! Okay, maybe not every meal, but it reminded me of how dreamy oats are.

I love eating oats because they can be hot, cold, creamy, doughy, cakey, etc. The possibilities are endless!! It honors my cravings for sweets, fills my desire for doughy textures, and the fiber content keeps me full and my blood sugar stable for several hours. I wanted to share several of my favorite recipes with you so that you can mix up your breakfast routine or get into oatmeal if you're not already into it. I seriously had oats in some form for breakfast for like a year straight. I can help you out!

This is one of the first oatmeal recipes that got me into the world of oats--whipped banana oatmeal. I love topping it with chopped apples, flax seed, and walnuts. <3

http://www.katheats.com/kaths-tribute-to-oatmeal

Then after my whipped oatmeal phase, I got into various baked oatmeal recipes. Here are a few of my faves...The one below is from Immaeatthat. Kylie knows how to do a baked oatmeal :-D

http://immaeatthat.com/2015/12/30/pumpkin-snickerdoodle-baked-oatmeal/

For the chocolate brulee below, I just top it with peanut butter instead of stuffing it inside. LOVE the crunchy topping! I'm all about mixing crunchy with a doughy texture.

http://athleticavocado.com/2014/11/26/chocolate-peanut-butter-oatmeal-brulee/

This one is even doughier than the brulee one. It's more like bread pudding (insert heart eye emoji here). Ooey gooey in the middle, crunchy on the top!!

Then I got into overnight oats. I make mine a variety of different ways. Cooled coffee gives it a nice flavor like in this recipe. 

http://24carrotlife.com/2015/05/03/latte-overnight-oats-vegan/

Other times I mash part of a banana, add oats, chia seeds, pb2, and milk into a bowl, stick in the fridge and then top with fruit, nuts, and peanut butter in the morning. Ohemgee...

And now with the weather FINALLY getting cooler, and my love for espresso continuing to grow, I canNOT wait to try out this recipe below for an oatmeal latte. It's genius!!

http://www.howsweeteats.com/2016/03/how-to-make-an-oatmeal-latte/

What do you think? Have you tried any of the recipes above? Have a recipe I just HAVE to try? Let me know!