#PWMF Recipe Contest Snack Winner: Kimberly's Espresso Protein Balls



We’ve come to the final recipe winner, so I suppose I should say something about when the free contest recipe e-book will come out, eh?

Setting an exact date is tricky, because as soon as I do the universe begins to work against it. That said, I will try my very best to have the e-book done by Sunday, November 9. IMPORTANT: Once the 2014 e-book goes up, I’m taking the 2013 e-book down for a while (don’t call me a meanie, my shopping cart software only lets me have so many files without charging me up the wazoo!), so use this link to download your FREE copy before it goes POOF!

Ok! Now that we’re done housekeeping, let’s talk snacks. I like snacks. Do you like snacks? Or maybe you’re a bit afraid of snacks. Understandable. There is a very fuzzy line between a snack and grazing and most of us just don’t want to take the chance. But a good snack can help you get needed calories and nutrients and keep your blood sugar stable, especially in longer stretches between meals (like the dreaded “lunch to dinner” stretch).

That’s why I included a snack category in this year’s contest. And here’s your winning entry!

Kimberly’s Chocolate Espresso Balls
(inspired by the Protein Power Ball recipe on the Bariatric Foodie site)

Ingredients:

• 1 c crushed Cracklin Oat Bran cereal (or high-fiber cereal of your choice)*
• 1/3 c. Chocolate PB2 (Nik Note: In the absence of peanut flour ¼ c. natural peanut butter + 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder would do but note that raises the calorie count significantly – and no I’m still not telling you the calories, sorry!)
• 3 scoops of Click protein mix (any flavor; I usually do 2 scoops Decaf Mocha and 1 scoop Vanilla)
• 2 packets no-calorie sweetener
• 1/2 c. skim milk
• Optional: 2 tbsp. sugar free chocolate chips

Directions:

Put cereal, PB2 and Click into a mixing bowl and stir well.

Add Splenda. Stir well.

Add milk 1 Tablespoon at a time, mixing after each. Stop adding milk when consistency is a moist dough, not sticky.

Stir in chocolate chips, if using.

Check the consistency of the mixture, by rolling a small amount into a ball. It should easily form a ball, but be dry enough it doesn't stick to your hands. If the mixture is too sticky, put it in the refridgeerator for 30 minutes. The cereal will soak up the excess moisture and make it easier to roll
Roll dough into balls, using rounded tablespoon-full will give you about 24 balls.

Place balls into airtight container and store in fridge. Note: the longer they are stored, the softer the cereal will become. They are best within the first 2-3 days)

Judge Maryann said she liked the recipe because it produced a snack that was snack-sized that is tasty and adds protein to her day! Here's Maryann's picture of the Espresso Protein Balls.

Nik's Protein Power Balls

(Insert snicker...go ahead...your inner 12 year-old is DYING to do it!) Yes, yes, on with it then...

The name is good for SEO the best name I could come up with to describe these things. As always, there's a story behind them.

So...I wanted to make peanut butter balls. Because I've seen them a few times. Paula Deen and whatnot. But I know that they are not particularly healthy in their original form. So one day I'm in the kitchen...tinkering...and I came up with what became this recipe.

Funny thing about these little suckers. They are deceptively FILLING. They are about the size of a jack ball (did you used to play jacks as a kid?). I ate two at about 7 p.m. that night and did not eat again until 2 the next afternoon. I kid you not. I documented it. 

So...wondering if this was unique to me, I asked a few other Foodies to try out the recipe. One of them being my friend Leslie (who inspired "Kitten's Love Potion #9 Protein Frosting"). She is a runner. And she, too, has a fairly...hearty pouch. She tried them. While she didn't wait quite so long to eat as I did, she reported just one was DEEPLY satisfying.

And now I am passing this recipe onto you, dear Foodies. And because I am feeling decidedly less bitchy more informational than usual I will even give you MY stats for this, although I encourage you, as always, to run your own stats using the ingredients YOU use. You'd be surprised at the variance.

Good balls are usually full of good stuff. This is what's in my balls!

Nik's Protein Power Balls

1 c. Fiber One Original cereal, crushed into crumbs
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp peanut butter (more about this in a moment)
3-4 tbsp milk

Optional: Splenda or other no-calorie sweetener, to taste

Directions:

Combine Fiber One crumbs, protein powder, sweetener (if you're using it - in my first few batches I did. In this one I did not) and cinnamon in a bowl. Mix well. Then add your peanut butter. 

Now about the peanut butter. I use Naturally More peanut butter. It's sold at Wal-Mart (right there alongside the other peanut butter options). Here are the stats on it. As you can see it has a few less calories than regular peanut butter BUT it also has: a better source of fat (they took out the peanut oil and replaced with flax seed oil), more fiber (from the whole flax seeds included) and more protein (they add egg whites in there some kinda way...I don't ask questions). 

SO...this is a prime example of why I don't usually give stats for my recipes. Say you use a different high fiber cereal OR a different kind of peanut butter (or even PB2)...your stats WILL be different. Do yourself a favor and read this over so you know how to run stats on the variation YOU make!

Back to business...

Next you want to add your milk, one tablespoon at a time until your mixture looks something like this:

So let's talk about what your mixture should NOT be: soggy. You want it to be moistened but not wet. It should sorta resemble sand and have large clumps. K? Because when you get it right, this is what you should be able to do with it:

I did this by taking a heaping tablespoon of the mixture into my hand and rolling it around until I achieved a round shape. If you cannot do this with your mixture, even after four tablespoons of milk, add water by the teaspoon full. It will happen eventually!

And that's it! I store mine in an airtight container in the fridge and have learned, with practice, to only eat one at a time! Like I said, these suckers will fill you UP! For those of us a few years out, this is a good thing. Newbies: take heed.

This is a recipe you can play around with, of course. You can try it with PB2. You can try it with chocolate protein. You can try it using sugar-free syrups instead of milk to moisten it. The possibilities are endless!

My batch USUALLY makes 8-10 balls (if you want to get 10, use a heaping half tablespoon). This time I got a little generous with my heaps so I only got 7.  For fellow "Live Strong" members: Here are MY stats for these. For those who aren't members of Live Strong here are my basic stats:

Each ball (assumes 10):

Calories: 65
Carbs: 7.5g
Fiber: 3.6g
Protein: 4.9g

Again, your stats may vary so be sure to run your own!