Vanilla Protein “Pro-Nut” Energy Bites

Happy Sunday! I thought I’d take a different approach to this post and instead of boring you all with another one of my stories leading up to a recipe, I’d like to talk a little bit about each ingredient that goes into these Vanilla Protein “Pro-Nut” Energy Bites. Aka: little donut holes sent from heaven!!

It was a few years ago that “energy bites” started to take the internet, mainly Pinterest, by storm. When I first started looking up recipes to make some balls of my own, I noticed that most of the ingredients were pretty expensive (walnuts, pecans, and other common nuts that are included in most energy bites can really add up!) or the ingredients were not something I had on hand. I finally have put together a perfect energy bites recipe that utilizes the ingredients you have on hand, and won’t break the bank. Let’s get started!

Ingredient 1: PlantFusion Vanilla Protein Powder

These days, it seems like most healthy baked goods call for protein powder. Why? It’s a fantastic substitute for flour in brownies, breakfast bars, and muffins that bind the other ingredients together while including a powerful protein punch. After a lot of research, I finally chose to make the investment in a container of PlantFusion Plant Based Protein powder. I love the vanilla flavor because it goes well in everything I use with it! Here’s a few other ideas you can use with your protein:

• Banana Nice Cream/Milkshakes: Add a little protein powder to your frozen banana/almond milk/cocao powder in the blender to give a vanilla (or chocolate!) flavor to your next batch of good-for-you ice cream.
• Pretty much any recipe you find in Arman’s famous Clean Sweets cookbook will call for protein powder, my fave are these protein pancakes!
• Matcha: Throw a little matcha powder in with your protein powder and steamed milk for a yummy cold-morning drink.

Ingredient 2: Coconut Flour

I resisted buying coconut flour for a LONG time, and I wish I had a good reason why. I finally jumped on the train a few months ago and haven’t looked back. I’ve used coconut flour for these and a few other energy bites recipes (in the works!) and of course in my yummy double chocolate fudge sweet potato brownies as well. It’s worth the buy on your next grocery trip!

Ingredient 3: Dates

DATES ARE GREAT.

That’s the extent of my rhyming capabilities. Regardless, dates are another fantastic sweetening ingredient I’ve come across as of late. Most grocery stores will sell dates in the produce section so if you’re planning ahead, you can just pick up however many you’ll need for your recipe (4-5 dates will cost you less than $2) and you’re set! If you’d rather buy in bulk and prepare for the future, I’ve also purchased sealed bags of dates that last up to two months. Here are a few ideas for dates:

• Almost any energy bites recipe will call for dates, to sweeten the batch and hold everything together. Check out these PB and Chia Seed bites from Vegan Family Recipes.
• Craving a little bite of a sweet snack? Take a pitted date and spoon on a little almond butter, and you’re good to go!
• Throw a date or two into any smoothie to up the sweetness without an (unhealthy) sugar overload.

Ingredient 4: Almond Flour

Who else is angry that a bag of Bob Mills’ Almond Flour costs TWELVE DOLLARS? Clearly I’m very passionate about this issue. What have I done in protest? Began making my own 🙂 Make your own almond flour is much more simple than it sounds. First, buy a contained of blanched almonds from the bulk section of your grocery store (the one I’ve shown below is only $4 and will make over 2 cups of flour!)

Place about a 1/2 cup of blanched almonds into your food processor or blender at a time, and lightly pulse until the almonds have formed into a flour-like substance. (Be sure to not over blend/process, because doing so will turn your almond flour into almond butter!! Not a bad situation to be in really, but not good if you need almond flour for your energy bites!)

I choose to make my own almond flour for many other dishes as well, such as gluten-free pizza crust or macarons.

Vanilla Protein Pro-nut Energy Bites

Now that we’ve been through the biggest ingredients of the energy bites, I hope you’ll try them! Like I said earlier, they taste JUST like little powdered donut holes and I just can’t get enough.

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Vanilla Protein "Pro-nut" Energy Bites

Swap the sugar for a blast of protein in these little energy bites that taste just like donut holes. What could be better?!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Total Time 10 minutes

Servings 12 bites

Calories 103 kcal

Author cravecolumbus

Ingredients

Ingredients for Energy Bites

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch salt
• 8 pitted dates
• 2 tbsp water

Ingredients for Coating

• 2 tbsp almond flour
• 1 tbsp vanilla protein powder

Instructions

1. Add all ingredients for energy bites to blender or food processor. 

2. Blend on high or until it forms a dough/ball-like consistency. If necessary, stop blending a few times to scrape down the sides. 
   

3. In a separate small bowl, combine the ingredients for coating.

4. Scoop dough into balls of desired size (I typically make them a little smaller than a ping pong ball). TIP: The dough won't necessarily form a large cohesive unit when it's removed from the food processor. However, when making your balls, applying pressure to your desired amount of dough should make the ball stick together.

5. Roll each ball into the coating mixture and place the ball onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

6. When finished, place in refrigerator or freezer to harden. Once hardened, I put all of my energy bites into a sealed tupperware container in the fridge. Enjoy!