It’s that time of the year where the summer holidays are going to end. It means “Back to School” and brainstorming new ideas for interesting snacks.
My kids had been lately very much into relishing protein balls from the nearby juice shop. When I googled about that protein balls, it saddened me to know that they’re adding quite a lot of preservatives & whey protein powder that are not likely suitable for kids. This research had given me inspiration to try home made protein balls with fresh natural ingredients.
Let’s jump into the recipe.
Ingredients
Quick oats - 1 cup
Almonds - 3/4 cup
Walnuts - 1/4 cup
White Sesame seeds - 2 tbsp
Black sesame seeds - 1 tbsp
Butter - 30gms melted
Unsweetened Dutch Processed Cocoa powder - 1/4 cup
Sweetened Condensed Milk - 100 to 125gms (I used plant based condensed milk)
Dry desiccated coconut - for garnishing
Method:
1. In an oven tray, layer the following oats, almonds, walnuts, sesame seeds and bake in 100 degrees for 20 mins (timings may vary depending on each oven).
2. The ingredients would leave a toasted aroma and colour appear very mild golden colour. Let the ingredients cool down completely.
3. Now in a food processor or blender add all the toasted ingredients and blitz until it’s formed into a coarse powder.
4. Add cocoa powder, melted butter, and 75 gms of condensed milk. Again blitz until all the ingredients are mixed well.
5. Check taste for sweetness, and also for consistency to see if you can make balls.
6. If sweet is less then add more condensed milk or if consistency is dry, add more melted butter and blitz again to combine.
7. Once everything is combined, the ingredients now appear like a soft dough.
8. Take a teaspoon full of chocolate protein dough, roll into a ball and dip it in dry desiccated coconut for garnish.
9. Refrigerate the protein balls for 2 hours minimum and then store it in a freezer safe container.
10. The protein balls stays well in freezer for upto 3 months and for about a week in fridge if stored in an airtight container. And this is must as we’re in summer. If you’re living in a cold climate it will stay well in an airtight container in a cool pantry cupboard.
Why do we need to refrigerate? Because it will help the protein balls settle well in cool temperature (and because it’s summer for us we have to refrigerate).
Is freezing must? Not necessary if you’re living in cold climate. However if you’re living in warm climate freezing helps to keep the protein balls fresh for more than a month. And in addition my kids love eating the cold protein balls during summer time.
You can do variations such as replace condensed milk with pitted dates/prunes. You can add nut butter instead of plain butter. Add peanuts for a hint of increased flavour & protein.
