Party Protein Bites. Vegan. GF.
Apparently February is my month of sprinkles. I’ve been using them non-stop of jobs like here, some other jobs that haven’t been published yet and now here. I always seem to use them around birthdays and Valentine’s Day, which is logical. My oldest is turning 17 in a few days and I created these last week and I will admit that both of my girls devoured them in less than 24 hours. They’re festive, cute and perfectly bite-sized and great for a celebration. You can customize them by sprinkles you use per event and are adult and kid-friendly without a doubt.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup of rolled oats (I prefer Bob’s Redmill gf rolled oats)
1/2 cup of pepitas
12 Medjool dates (pitted)
1 tablespoon of almond butter (I prefer Justin’s)
2 teaspoons of almond extract
1 teaspoon of melted coconut oil
Sprinkles
Directions:
If your Medjool dates are soft and buttery – pit them and place them in a bowl and cover with boiling water for about 10 minutes. Drain and let dry for a few minutes then use in the recipe.
Into your food processor, blend the oats and pepitas until a flour is achieved. Then add your dates, almond butter, extract and coconut oil. Pulse until well blended. It may form a large ball in your processor – stop and scrap down the sides and blend again. Remove the batter and freeze for 30 minutes or until it’s firmed up.
If using sprinkles, place them in a shallow bowl. Using a small scoop, scoop out the batter and roll in between your palms to make a perfect ball. Place into your bowl with the sprinkles and roll around. The dough will be sticky – which is necessary for the sprinkles to stick. Then place on a platter or plate. Repeat until all of the dough is used. I stored these in the freezer in an airtight container.
I hope you have fun with this recipe. Raw desserts are fun and easy to make. Quite forgiving if you need to sub out an ingredient for something you have in your pantry. Kids love to help make these… especially the sprinkle step. Would also be fun on lollipop sticks and then wrapped up with a cellophane bag for a treat.
Life:: This weekend we headed off to Washington D.C. for another college tour. We took some time afterwards to hit up the Natural History Museum, the White House and our favorite Mexican restaurant. It was a beautiful day of walking around. We did come home Saturday night and Sunday was my planned training run to kick off my training week. Happily after two higher mileage weeks, this is a step down week for me (phew).
Natural History Museum.
Immature Squid (approx. 2 years old) which was insanely huge.
Hanging outside the White House along with a million secret service agents. π
Sunday: Ran with Bill for 10.6 miles outdoors
Monday: Treadmill run for 10.6 miles, walked on the treadmill at the highest elevation for 3 miles, weights and core.
That’s it from here. Looks like some snow is coming our way tomorrow (2-4 inches), which is fine after the last storm dumped 28-30 inches. I’m hoping to run outside in the snow tomorrow morning but we shall see. Make it a great week!
— Knead to Cook