A luxurious protein filled snack!
These Chocolate Coated Blondie Protein Balls were actually inspired by the new Health Lab Blondie Protein Bars (not sponsored). I’ve really been enjoying their unique flavour and texture, so as usual it got me thinking about making something similar. I also wanted to dial up the luxe experience so decided to coat these in dark chocolate. Safe to say I am pretty happy with the result.
I actually made these Chocolate Coated Blondie Protein Balls about 2 weeks ago and they have been sitting in the freezer patiently waiting to be photographed. I’ve had to control myself from eating them in advance, which was about 80% successful.
The last few weeks have been filled with some extremely cup filling events and experiences outside of clinic work, which has meant sharing recipes like this has been on the back burner. Now at the tail end of the whirlwind of it all (that being said Buffalo Stampede 42km is in 3 days at the time of writing) I have found some space to finally make this happen.
It all kicked off with my sister, brother in law and my niece and nephew visiting about 3 weekends ago here in beautiful Warburton. We swam in the river, went to the waterpark, made homemade pizza, drank some bubbles (FYI if you have not tried Tread Softly wine for a low alcohol option you are missing out), went for easy runs around the river – just perfect. A few days after my sis and co left my parents turned up ahead of Warburton Trailfest the following weekend.
This year was so special for Warburton Trailfest personally. We had not only my Mum and Dad running the 4.5km around the river, which is something my Mum has never done before (so proud of them both!), but also our 78 year old neighbour and dear friend also lining up at the 4.5km. I mean how is that for inspiration? We also had my husband Dameon running/floating the Lilo Derby with our niece (on his family’s side). Her mum had bought her a running vest and all the gear just like Aunty Jess. God damn my aching heart.
I ran the 28km Redwood Dash which was my first official trail run last year, so this was really about seeing how far I had come. All said and done I was so happy with my result taking over 40 minutes off last years time and coming in just under 3 hours which was my goal.
At the end of this soul filling weekend family left and we had one day to get our belongings together to get on a flight to New Zealand the next morning. When you live out in Warburton an early flight means getting up at some ungodly hour. For us that meant a 3:30am wake up. I’d still not slept properly after all the weekend excitement so I was properly wrecked.
We flew into Queenstown and got to spend one night in Alexandra with family before driving down to Invercargill for Dameon’s step fathers 70th. Now, if you don’t know where Invercargill is then lets just say its been described as ‘the ass end of New Zealand’. I’m not even worried about anyone from Invercargill being offended, because if you know, you know. In Invercargill it rains every 2 days out of 3 on average. The winds off the Antarctic are something else too. They make the rain go sideways and make it hard to physically move when out in them. Hubbard has stories of riding home over the long exposed bridge that stretches for at least 1km as a kid being smashed by sideways wind and rain. Cyclone level winds are just standard in Invercargill.
Suffice to say, I wasn’t thrilled about going. I was keen to see my father in law and be there for his 70th. I was not thrilled at 6 nights booked in Invercargill.
Well a greater good was looking out for me because it was unseasonably good weather (it only rained one day) and I was able to go out to the peninsula area and do some pretty lovely runs. I did get some savage head winds at points but Hubbard was quick to tell me that was ‘nothing’.
We did leave a day earlier still in the end (our AirBnB accommodation was internally lovely, but it looked out onto the guys car-yard and neatly stacked rubbish piles) and headed back to Central Otago for a day trip into Queenstown. We ate the best burgers of our life at Ferg Burger (yes worth waiting in line) and then after checking into our accommodation I went for one of the most glorious runs of the trip up into a mountain looking over the expansive Lake Dunsdan. If you have never seen Central Otago landscape with your own eyes then please add it to the bucket list. I’ve seen some beautiful places in my life, but nothing beats the raw and energetic beauty of this place. Its truly special.
So now we are back and just about to head off for the weekend tomorrow to Bright in Victoria for Buffalo Stampede weekend. After this weekend I’ve promised myself some time to settle back and just be. No races for a few months and let the thought of Kosci 100km simmer in the back burner. For now.
Recipe adaptions & alternatives:
As always, here are some suggestions for common modifications:
Protein powder alternative – you can swap the protein powder for another plant based protein powder, but please be aware it will change the texture of the balls. Especially something more grainy like hemp or rice protein powder. A change of protein powder will also effect the liquid amount due to different fibre content. Please add only half the amount of liquid first and then continue to add more if needed.
Nut free alternatives – you could swap the peanut butter for tahini to make these nut free. The flavour would be a little milder but I’d say they would still be super tasty.
Sugar free alternatives – this is not so easy folks. You could swap the maple for more rice milk and then use a particularly sweet vanilla flavoured protein powder. I’m not sure how this would taste and it would also effect the texture of the balls slightly. Worth giving a go if you like.
If you have any more questions abut modifying this recipe, be sure to leave a comment below. I am always happy to help out and find a ingredient sub or tweak to make it work for you. Did you know our clinic specialises in gut health nutrition? Learn more here.
Enjoy! x
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Chocolate Coated Blondie Protein Balls
- serves
- makes 12 balls
- preparation time
- 20 min
- cooking time
- nil
ingredients
- ¾ cup vanilla pea protein powder
- ½ cup tapioca flour
- ¼ cup almond meal
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ cup cacao nibs
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 65g peanut butter
- ½ cup rice milk
- 100g choc 90%
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (will have leftover mix)
Please note the pea protein powder works well for texture here. Hemp protein powder or rice protein powder will make the balls more grainy in texture and may also effect the liquid portion (see above blog notes).
method
- Place the pea protein powder, tapioca flour, almond meal, salt and cacao nibs in a mixing bowl.
- Make a well in the centre and add the maple syrup, peanut butter and rice milk.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon to start to combine, then get your hands in there to bring to a dough. Ensure everything is really well combined.
- Roll mixture into balls aiming for 12 balls in total. Set aside.
- Break up the chocolate and place the chocolate and coconut oil in a ceramic bowl that will sit comfortably on top of a small saucepan to create a double boiler. Fill the saucepan with a few centimeter’s of water and place on to boil, then turn to a simmer. Stir the chocolate and coconut oil mix as it heats and slowly melts to a lovely chocolate liquid. Once completely melted remove the chocolate mixture and set aside.
- Now take the protein balls and use a fork to push the ball around gently in the chocolate mix to coat. Remove the ball and place on a plate covered with grease proof paper. Repeat and coat all balls. Please note there will be mixture left over so just save for another recipe or to make a hot chocolate.
- Once all the balls are coated, place in the fridge to set. Once they are set, store in an airtight container in the freezer. It is important to store these in the freezer due to their moisture content.
- Enjoy straight from the freezer or if you prefer let them come to room temperature.
nutritional information for Chocolate Coated Blondie Protein Balls
Nutritional information based on 1 ball and 50g melted chocolate given there is leftovers in the recipe after coating.
| Calories/KJ | 154 cal/644 kj |
| Total Fat | 11g |
| Saturated Fat | 4g |
| Total Carbohydrates | 13g |
| Sugars | 1g |
| Fibre | 2g |
| Protein | 9g |
Jessica Cox is a qualified practicing Nutritionist with a Bachelor Health Science (Nutrition) and over 15 years of clinical experience. She is the founder and director JCN Clinic, published author and established recipe developer. Jessica is well respected within health and wellness space for her no fad approach and use of evidence-based nutrition.
