Life is never dull with a 2 year old around. They have a seemingly endless supply of energy. They love to get involved with whatever their parents are doing.
In this case, they like to get involved in whatever Mommy is doing. And Mommy was trying to take a few photos of the energy balls for her blog. The operative word being trying. By the end of the shoot, I needed a few energy balls.
Have I mentioned that I’m pretty clueless when it comes to photography? I want to learn more, but there is so much to learn with a limited amount of time to devote to the skill. Lighting drives me crazy. All the experts say that the biggest no-no is using a flash with food. But there’s never enough light in my house to not use a flash. So I move Meghan’s Ikea table every which way trying to find a spot where there’s enough light, but not a million crazy shadows. And I have no idea what I’m doing.
Meghan was my big helper today.
Her first idea was to have her plastic eggplant toy in the shot. Yes, she’s just out of bed, in her pajamas in these pics.
Then she thought she should be the star of the show.
But I was the director, and I put my foot down. We moved the shoot outside for more light. Meghan still thought she should be included in the pictures.
In an attempt to get a few shots without her, I told her to run to the tree and back. But she still made it into the shots.
Then, I saw her tiny hand.
And I knew this shoot was almost over.
Mmmmm. One is never enough with these tasty bites. {I couldn’t bring myself to call them balls right there.}
So I hope you won’t judge my photographs too harshly. Though I’m trying to learn as fast as I can, I have an even faster two year old to keep up with.
Despite the photos, these High Protein Energy Balls are worth trying. They make a delicious snack that stays with you and gives you the energy you need to keep up with a little one, or whatever it is in your life that requires stamina.
I like to cook my own beans when I can, but when I used canned beans I prefer Eden Organics. Eden Foods is one of the few companies that uses BPA-free cans, their beans have muuuuuuch less sodium than regular canned beans, and they use kombu seaweed, which helps with, ahem, digestion. I love this brand! (They didn’t ask me to say that; they don’t even know who I am.)
My Cuisinart Food Processor makes these SO easy to make! It’s my favorite kitchen appliance.
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High Protein Energy Balls
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 30 balls 1x
Description
These High-Protein Snack Balls are made with chickpeas and they are always a hit!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup almonds
- 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 3/4 cup natural peanut butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4–1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)
Instructions
- Line a tray that will fit in your freezer with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a food processor, process the almonds until they are a fine crumb.
- Add the chickpeas and process until they are fully broken down.
- Next, add the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla and process until you have a smooth mixture.
- Remove the blade from the processor and stir in the chocolate chips, if using.
- Roll the mixture into small balls and place on your tray.
- Continue until you use all the mixture; you should have 30 balls.
- Freeze for at least 20 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Snacks
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ball
- Calories: 92
- Sugar: 4.2g
- Sodium: 32.9mg
- Fat: 4.9g
- Carbohydrates: 11.9g
- Fiber: 2.1g
- Protein: 3g
You can store them in the freezer and just defrost them a bit before serving, or you can store them in the refrigerator.
Don’t let the chickpeas scare you. I’ve seen chickpeas being used all around the blogosphere as a base for everything from dessert hummus to cookies, and have had it in my mind to try a creation for while. You can’t taste the chickpeas at all and they add a nice protein punch.
I actually think the balls taste a lot like Buckeyes (chocolate-covered peanut butter balls for those of you who aren’t from the Midwest). I might try to use this as a base for a healthier version of the traditional treat around Christmas time.
Each ball is just 92 calories (78 if you don’t use the chocolate chips) and has 3 grams of protein. For a normal snack, you’d eat 2-3 balls, depending on your caloric needs, so you’ll get 6-9 grams of protein, a nice amount for a snack. You’ll also get about 2 grams of fiber per ball.
These balls are perfect for little hands; they make a wholesome toddler snack. Not that toddlers need more energy. 😉
You can store them in the freezer and just defrost them a bit before serving, or you can store them in the refrigerator.
wow, these sound so good!!! I wouldn’t have thought to use chickpeas!!!!
What a cute story… That gives the pictures character 🙂 And the use of chickpeas is VERY intriguing. They look DELICIOUS!
These look great. I guess I am one of those people who thinks of chickpeas for the savory stuff and not really a dessert ingredient. I will have to try these protein balls out, I am sure the kids will have a blast.
Chickpeas will always be primarily a savory food for me, but this was a fun switch up!
These look good and I am thinking are a great one for school lunches. You are looking good – just saw photos.. 🙂
This recipe looks and sounds great! I cannot wait to try…picking up the chickpeas tomorrow 🙂
Yes, I agree! We shall call them bites when they are in the hands of the youngsters!
These look delish Maryea! I love using chickpeas in desserts and these would taste delish! I know – I hate using THAT word, too. Just feels slightly awkward 🙂
I’m in the same boat with pictures. My friend is a photographer and gave me some tips which has helped. She said you can put a white piece of paper or posterboard (set up like a wall) to reflect the light. This can help with the shadows. As far as the 2 year old assistant, I’m not sure how to elliminate those. I have a 3 year old one who says “cheese” everytime I pull out my camera 🙂
I totally want to make these!
I love the pictures! I think they make you seem like a “real” mom just like the rest of us. Of course, you are real. I just don’t know you in real life. The bites look amazing and I know we would probably love them. Can’t wait to try them out this weekend once I have my honey replenished. Going to the farmer’s market on Saturday to get some.
Thanks, Lisa. It means a lot to hear you say that. There is nothing better than local honey! I hope you enjoy these.
I never would have guessed there’d be so much protein in these with such normal ingredients. And anything that tastes like a buckeye is never bad in my book.
Chickpeas+peanut butter+almonds=a good amount of protein. No powder needed. 😉
I just emailed my husband the link to this entry. He’s Joe Protein, and is always looking for new protein snacks. I asked him if he’d eat them if I made them. He emailed me back a hilarious message with inappropriate references to balls. I laughed so hard he could hear me 2 floors away 🙂
Anyway, he said he’d try them after working out because of the higher fat content. I hope he likes them!
We (he, my friend staying with us, and I) decided we’d call them “bites” 🙂
I hope he likes them, too! It’s hard to avoid the “balls” comments…
Kids make our lives more interesting, and I think they do the same for our photography. Especially when they are as cute as Meghan.
This recipe is intriguing…definitely a must-try.
LOVE THESE! I make a similar version…only without the honey and almonds….and I use unsweetened chocolate 😛 And then I bake them…yummy protein cookies!
And the pictures are too adorable with Meghan in them. They are even better!
Alex, I would be interested in knowing your recipe for this as my daughter has an almond allergy & we also try to stay away from sugar as much as possible. Thank you.
Staceyyou might try a coconut flour instead of grinding the almonds. I bet it would work too and with a similar texture. 🙂 Good luck. I can’t wait to try these with some different mix-ins. Has anyone tried them with fruits?
This post is too funny! M is the same way with when I’m taking pictures. She always finds her way in the shot 🙂
I can’t wait to try these! We make the raw cookie dough balls that are floating around the blogosphere and my daughters (and the adults in the house for that matter) adore them. My 4 year old calls them “goodies”. These look even better/smoother/higher in protein! Also, I think we have the same countertops!
Can cocoa powder be substituted for the chocolate chips?
I don’t see why not. It’d change the overall flavor to more chocolatey, but that’s never a bad thing! 😉 After you add the cocoa, just taste to see if it needs more sweetener. Let me know if you try it!
Aw, I love the pictures with Meghan in them anyways 😀 I know exactly what you mean about lighting. I have one window that’s usable in my house and I can only take pictures at a certain time of day. It’s craziness! I always have little hands in my pictures(but I find I actually like them, so maybe I’ll start posting some of those too) and I’m always telling the kids to get out of the way of the light. They must think I’m crazy.
These look great! I’m scared of chickpeas in cookies and things but I’ve tried dessert hummus and loved it, so this really isn’t much different. Love it! And you get bonus points this time of year for these being no bake and being a great source of protein 😀
haa… oh, my I have a hard enough time with photography! a distraction like that and I wouldn’t get any shots, I’d be eating these bites and running to the tree with her! 😀
these look awesome. beans are awesome.
I love the picture with Meghan’s hand in it. It’s a really great photo and I think it adds character to the photo. 🙂
Thanks, Amy!
I have the same problem with lighting…. not so much with the cute little hand coming into the frame, hopefully someday I’ll have a cute little hand adding life to my pictures!
That recipe just moved it’s way to the TOP of my ‘next to try’ list! Thanks Maryea! 🙂 I’m PUMPED to try these! (especially with my sister who is expecting and could use the protein too!)
Let me know what you think. They’re a big hit over here!
This looks like a great option to add extra protein in my diet. However, I am unable to read the information due to all the advertisements that keep popping up. I realize that the more advertisements you add, the more money you make but it’s a little extensive and defeats the purpose of others visiting your blog if they can’t read the information your sharing.
Thank you for the feedback regarding the ad. I recently switched to a new ad network and it is not my intention to have any pop up ads at all. I will speak to my account manager about making sure these types of ads are filtered out. I’m sorry you had a frustrating time with them–I can’t stand that kind of ad either! Would you mind sharing if you are reading on a desktop or mobile?
I agree with you when I am on a mobile device it is almost impossible to get to the instructions because of the ad load and website that doesn’t seem to be optimized for mobile viewing. I almost didn’t make them because it kept taking so long to load, load halfway, or when I placed my device down to do a step and tried to go back there was a pop up and then it would take me back to the beginning of the page, thus starting this annoying process again. HOWEVER…… I finally got through it and made them. Everything turned out great! I may add a few PB chips to enhance the pb flavor, unless…. there is a PB extract or emulsion I don’t know of!
I meant to add, I didn’t add chocolate chips because I didn’t want the dark brown spots in the balls! The flavor was still good without them. ( And the desktop site works perfectly, just the mobile that wasn’t user friendly.)
Thanks for your feedback!
Download AdBlock. I read this page without seeing any ads and it shows that 18 ads were blocked. Annoying ads!