These are my classic, tried and true protein balls that are easy to make, good fuel for your body and most importantly, they taste great!
I started making these protein balls my freshman year of high school to bring to track meets for easy snacks after races. It wasn’t long before bringing a few for myself turned into making a whole batch to bring for my distance teammates. By my senior year I was doubling this recipe every day before a cross country or track meet to bring and share with my teammates. It became a fun ritual and the protein balls felt like a good luck charm for me!
Flash forward a couple years and now these protein balls have become an easy snack staple, especially during this time at home in quarantine. I like to have these ready in the fridge so that I can grab one after a run to refuel, to tide me over until dinner in the late afternoon, or as a healthier treat for dessert!
Health Benefits:
- Oats and flax seed are a good source of fiber, which is important for our digestive health.
- Peanut butter is a healthy fat and a great plant-based source of protein, which is needed to build and repair our tissues (important post-exercise).
- Oats are also a carbohydrate, which means that they provide our body with essential energy (carbs are important in a balanced diet, something that “diet culture” often tries to change).
Easy Substitutions & Additions:
- Any nut butter of your choice can be used to replace peanut butter
- Maple syrup can be used to replace honey
- Chocolate chips can be left out or replaced by dried fruit such as raisins or cranberries.
- For added protein, include a scoop or two of your protein powder of choice (if consistency becomes too dry, add a little more peanut butter- this isn’t a perfect science)
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Protein Balls
A delicious and healthy snack to fuel your body at any time of the day!
Ingredients
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1/2 cup flax seed
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Directions
- Add all ingredients to a bowl and mix until combined
- If consistency appears to be too dry or moist for your preference, simply add a little more peanut butter or oats/ flax seed
- Refrigerate for 20 minutes to make it easier to shape into balls (if you don’t have the time or patience you can skip this step)
- Use a cookie dough scoop or spoons to shape into balls
- Store in wax/parchment paper lined tupperware in the fridge and enjoy!
If you try these out on your own, I hope you enjoy them as much as I do! Thanks for taking the time to be here and if you have any questions, comments or feedback, I would love to hear it.
–Brit
Balanced by Brit 