Note from Dina: Balls, bites, nuggets… call ‘em what you want, but these are fun to make, tasty, and an excellent way to change up your snack options. Thanks for sharing this one, Kristin!
This recipe is inspired by my friend Colleen who created the original recipe during a whole food cooking class in grad school. She called them Joy Balls. It cracked me up then, and it cracks me up to this day. Yep, my sense of humor is that low.
These protein bites (AKA Colleen’s Joy Balls) are the perfect between-meal snack or whenever you’re needing a little something to tide you over. They’re full of protein, low in carbohydrates, and have lots of good-for-you plant-based fats. The cardamom and cinnamon give them a hint of chai spice and the sunflower seeds provide a tiny bit of crunch.
Recipe Ingredients:
16-ounce jar of almond butter (the kind where the oil separates at the top)
1/3 of a 16-ounce jar of tahini (also the kind where the oil separates at the top)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1/2 cup oats
2 heaping tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon cardamom
Optional: 1/2 cup of coconut flakes (I put mine into a coffee grinder for a few pulses) -or- 1/2 cup cacao nibs
Preparation Steps: (prep time ~15 minutes / yield ~30 bites)
Discard the oil (never down your kitchen sink) off the top of the almond butter and tahini; otherwise the mixture will be too runny.
Add the almond butter, tahini, maple syrup, oats, sunflower seeds, cinnamon, salt, and cardamom together and stir until mixed. It should resemble cookie dough.
Using a tablespoon, scoop out and form into balls. Set on a cookie sheet.
Optional: Roll bites in flaked coconut or cacao nibs. Store in an airtight container in your fridge or freezer.
Basic Nutrition Info per bite:
~150 kilocalories
9 grams carbohydrate
4.5 grams protein
11 grams fat
80 milligrams calcium
45 milligrams sodium
Enjoy!
-Kristin