QUINOA PROTEIN BALLS

A number of events led up to this recipe.  I’ve got two boys who are always hungry, especially in the morning and it seems I can’t feed them enough.  I used to buy “breakfast bars”  to fill some of the gaps but realised most of them were full of sugar.  So I started making my own.  Dates, nuts, seeds, protein powder, coconut – I just throw things together and as long as the dates are there, it always works out and the kids love them as they are super sweet but really good for you.

So when I went to the dentist recently I was shocked when she told me that fruit (dried particularly but all fruit) can really damage your teeth and that my super healthy bars that I was so proud of may actually be harming them.  Obviously we all know that fruit is good for you but it is full of sugar so my dentist recommends only eating it in moderation.

So I set about the challenge of creating a bar (or ball as they turned out) without dates.  I did use date nectar which I’m sure my dentist would frown at but they do need some sweetness.  You could substitute for your choice of sweetener.  Try rolling the balls in chia seeds or sesame seeds too to mix it up!

INGREDIENTS

50g quinoa (uncooked)
2 tbsp peanut butter
2 tbsp date nectar
50g mixed seeds
50g almonds
1 tbsp protein powder
desiccated coconut

1. Cook the quinoa and leave to cool
2. Meanwhile mix the peanut butter, nectar and seeds (I used sunflower, pumpkin and sesame)
3. Break up the almonds using a pestle and mortar and add to the mix along with the protein powder
4. Mix well and allow to cool for 30 minutes in the fridge
5. Roll the mixture into balls and cover with the coconut
6. Keep refrigerated