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The most basic peanut butter protein balls are made with nothing but – you guessed it – peanut butter and protein. I remember trying that once – just kneading chocolate whey powder into peanut butter as I was instructed from a bodybuilding magazine recipe. I wasn’t impressed. It seemed lacking in substance.
Our version includes additional ingredients that makes them even tastier, and also more solid so they are neither too gooey nor too dry – perfect for a snack or meal on the go.
Although chocolate whey protein powders have a strong flavor, the cocoa makes it even more chocolatey, so it’s well worth including.
The oatmeal adds some healthy carbs and fiber.
The version with coconut is extremely tasty, but keep in mind that adds even more calories.
The honey is a natural sweetener, but more importantly, it’s part of the “glue” that sticks together the amount of dry ingredients.
Because honey is a sweetener, and most chocolate protein powders are also sweetened, these are quite good without any other sweetener, but adding two packets of stevia or other non-caloric sweetener brings the taste up to the next level.
Speaking of dry ingredients, you will have to “mix and mash” for everything to stick together. First mix all the ingredients thoroughly in the bowl. Then mash them down with a large spoon or a spatula.
At first it may seem like everything is still too dry and or even powdery, but keep patiently kneading and mashing everything down, and you’ll see the peanut butter and honey take in the dry ingredients, and it all starts to congeal in the bowl. Once it does, you’re ready to form the protein balls.
I’ve been told that a cookie scoop works well, but I did not have one, or see the need for one, so I simply used my hands, which worked great. Apply plenty of pressure – really squeeze – and everything will stick together nicely.
If it appears the ingredients are not coming together to your satisfaction (or if you form your protein balls but when eating them later you find them too dry, or they fall apart after you bite into them), you can add a bit more liquid when mashing everything together.
Water works fine. Use skim milk if you prefer. Use only one teaspoon at a time and continue to mix and press the ingredients down into the bowl before seeing if you want to add another teaspoon. If you add too much liquid, it gets gooey. When you get it just right, the consistency is more like clay or play-dough. Of course, you could add more peanut butter or honey, but then you’re adding more calories.
The amount of ingredients listed here works well, but feel free to tweak the portions of dry or wet ingredients to get the consistency you like the best.
Naturally of course you can scale up the batch ingredients if you want to make these in bulk.
The serving size is really up to you. I made four servings and each was about the size of a golf ball or slightly larger.
By the way, you can customize serving sizes for any official Burn the Fat recipe with a couple clicks in the Burn the Fat Inner Circle meal planner software. Just search on Burn the Fat approved recipes for “protein balls,” change the number of servings and then save as one of your custom recipes.
For the entire batch of ingredients, the nutritional values are: 399 calories, 45.2g protein, 56g carbs and 21.6g fat. Make a note that these are typical macros for standard meal in a high-protein fat loss meal plan, so if you ate all 4 servings at once, you could call it a meal. If you had 2, you could call that snack or dessert and still get a 22 gram boost to your daily protein intake.
You can eat these right away, or store them in the refrigerator first (they’re great chilled too). Store them in an airtight container or plastic bag for later use.
If you don’t mind the extra calories, adding coconut makes this a real treat. I usually mix it right in with all the other ingredients, but for presentation, you could also roll the balls in coconut to coat the outside.
When you add 1/2 cup shredded/flaked coconut, the whole batch of ingredients clocks in at 730 calories, 47 grams of protein, 64 grams of carbs, and 41.5 grams of fat.
With coconut, the per serving macros are:
Calories: 183
Protein: 11.8 g
Carbs: 16 g
Fat: 10.4 g
The coconut takes these from great to positively decadent, but do make a note of those calories and macros. Coconut may be a healthy food, but like peanut butter and honey, it’s not a low-calorie food.
This is such a neat recipe because you don’t need a food processor, you don’t have to bake these, and it’s a portable food you can take with you anywhere you go.
Once you get hooked on these, you might not even eat commercial protein bars again – they’re that good!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 32 g Peanut butter (2 Tbsp)
- 25 g Chocolate whey protein (1/3 cup)
- 30 g Old fashioned oats (oatmeal) (1/2 cup)
- 21 g Honey, pure (1 Tbsp)
- 5 g Unsweetened cocoa (1 Tbsp)
- 2 tsp Water (or skim milk, as needed)
- 2 packets Sweetener (Stevia, Truvia, Splenda, etc)
Instructions
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Add all the ingredients to a medium or large bowl.
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Mix all the ingredients together thoroughly.
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Mash the ingredients together by pressing down with a large spoon or spatula.
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If the ingredients remain too dry or powdery, add a teaspoon at a time of water (or skim milk) to get the desired consistency.
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Once most of the ingredients have congealed into a play-dough like consistency, form them into balls with your hands.
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Compress the balls tightly in your hands so they completely stick together (and won't fall apart when you bite into them).
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Eat right away, or put in refrigerator to cool.
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Store in a sealed container or ziplock bag for future use.
Nutrition
If you want to see a lot more recipes like this one, join us at Burn the Fat Inner Circle, our members-only community where you’ll find the complete collection of hundreds of Burn the Fat recipes all in one place, plus the Burn the Fat Meal Planner software, which is the ultimate desktop tool for meal planning and recipe creation. Click here to learn more: www.BurnTheFatInnerCircle.com
Until next time,
-Tom Venuto, Author, Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle
PS. Leave a comment below and let me know what you think of this lemon blueberry protein muffins recipe. And if you make this recipe, be sure to snap a picture and share it in public on social media as well, with hashtag #burnthefatrecipes #burnthefatfeedthemuscle or #feedthemuscle so we can all see! You can tag me at www.Instagram.com/tomvenuto
About Tom Venuto
Tom Venuto is a natural bodybuilding and fat loss coach. He is also a recipe creator specializing in fat-burning, muscle-building cooking. Tom is a former competitive bodybuilder and is today a full-time fitness writer, blogger, and author. His book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle is an international bestseller, first as an ebook and now as a hardcover and audiobook. The Body Fat Solution, Tom’s book about emotional eating and long-term weight maintenance, was an Oprah Magazine and Men’s Fitness Magazine pick. Tom is also the founder of Burn The Fat Inner Circle – a fitness support community with over 51,000 members worldwide since 2006. Click here for membership details
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