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Chocolate Coated Coconut Protein Balls – Vegan

When it comes to snacks I am a huge fan of anything “bite sized” that I can pop into my mouth and devour in under three minutes. While this may not be the healthiest of habits, it is an effective one to stay full as a mom! This means that energy balls, chocolate bark and items in mini are my favorite. And these little coconut protein balls have made the list!

So #confession: every time I am at the grocery store, I pick out a new energy or protein bar to try. There are hundreds of bars at the grocery store so I feel I have adequate supple to work my way through!

My requirements for bars have shifted over the years as before grabbing a cliff protein bar was probably my favorite.

Now when I’m looking at the bars I prefer ones with a little less sugar and somewhat natural ingredients.

Unfortunately, most of the time the second ingredients is sugar which means there’s a lot of it Blah.

The other day I grabbed my bar not because it was low in sugar but because I wanted a treat. It was literally just a chocolate coconut bar. I can’t remember what the old candy bar it resembles is called but just think sweet yummy coconut covered in chocolate- yum!

It was magical.

Which of course made me go home and put my thinking cap on! It was a pretty easy one to recreate buuuttt I wanted to make it a bit healthier. Enter protein powder.

Instead of just making this a little treat I decided to make some chocolate covered coconut protein balls!

The chocolate and coconut make them yummy and the protein powder helps stabilize the release of sugar. Plus, making them bite sized means they’re easy to pop right into your mouth when you want semi sweet or post workout.

These coconut protein balls are sticky, chewy and have that coconut chocolate combo that’s addictive!

Now, given my attempt to stay away from a lot of whey protein, I used my favorite vegan protein powder in this recipe. Not only does this help keep the coconut protein balls dairy free but it also means they have a few more health benefits.

it’s a long story as to why I prefer vegan protein powders (I’ll post on that one day!) but the short version is that my body goes crazy when I eat a bunch of whey protein. It’s one of the items I’ve loosened up on when I scaled back on dairy (read a few tips on going dairy free here). Plus, vegan proteins like this one are normally boosted with additional nutritional properties which I really love.

If you do want to use a whey protein though- go for it! Using whey protein won’t change the texture but it will make them a bit sweeter.

The other perk of these coconut protein balls (aside from the pop in your mouth factor!) is that they’re simple to make. We all know that I am a huge fan of no bake snacks (it’s a time thing) and these balls fit right into that category.

They’re easy to make and an awesome hit of fuel post workout. So keep some in your freezer to munch on when you need that chocolate coconut hit.

Ingredients In The Coconut Protein Balls

1 cup unsweetened Shredded Coconut
1 scoop vegan vanilla protein powder
1/4 cup Brown rice syrup
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon pure maple syrup

Chocolate Topping

Note: all of these health boosting ingredients can be purchased through my favorite retailer Well.ca– and the best part is that they offer free shipping!

Kitchen Tools You May Find Helpful

How To Make The Chocolate Covered Protein Balls

In a large bowl combine the coconut and protein powder.

Measure out the rice syrup and combine it with the almond extract and maple syrup.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix. Everything will be slightly coated and sticky.

Line a tray with parchment paper and rub some coconut oil onto your hands (to help prevent sticking).

Using your hands, portion and roll the mixture into little disks about one inch wide. Place the disks on the tray.

Place the tray into the freezer to set.

In a small pot, melt the coconut oil and syrup in a pot on low heat. Once the coconut oil is melted, whisk in the chocolate chips

Two at a time, place the frozen balls into the pot and toss until coated. Place them back on the parchment paper and into the freezer.

When ready to eat, let the disks thaw for five minutes before popping them into your mouth or store in the fridge until ready.

Makes 14 balls.

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