We have been working on finding snacks that are healthy and easy to make. If we have healthy snacks on hand, then we won’t go for the unhealthy ones. All of us have been needing to up our protein intake, so protein balls were something I really wanted to try. I have been making these for a while and we all enjoy them. On busy mornings where I would normally grab a coffee and skip breakfast, I grab a few of these and am satisfied until lunch.

Variations

There are a lot of variations to this recipe that you could make. I have switched out half of the dates for dehydrated cherries and that was delicious. You could also add cacao powder and make a chocolate peanut butter snack. Switching the honey for maple syrup is also delicious. You can up the protein by adding more hemp seed or adding any number of things to the mix. The sky is the limit and you can absolutely find a recipe that makes the picky eaters happy. As long as they like peanut butter. Creamy or Crunchy peanut butter can be used for this as well.

Sourcing Bulk Ingredients

Most of my ingredients I try to source in bulk. I do enough cooking and baking from scratch that it is more cost effective for me to purchase in bulk. If you are interested in building your pantry on a budget, I highly suggest checking out Azure Standard. I can order from them once a month if I want to, which I don’t need to do that. I then meet a semi-truck at a specific drop location. Everyone purchasing helps unload all the product for that drop and then we take our goods and head home. I have saved so much money this way. For example, the items I have purchased in bulk for this recipe are: the oatmeal, honey, chia seeds, once again unsweetened peanut butter and the shredded coconut all of which I get from Azure Standard. I purchase my dates and hemp seed from Costco.

If you have not started to purchase in bulk, I highly suggest you start. Take the time to do a price comparison, especially on spices and flours. Now let’s get to the recipe…

If you liked this recipe, you should check out our Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Surprise Cookies, Oatmeal Christmas Cookies and our Gluten and Dairy Free Peppermint Brownies. All of three of these recipes can be found in our E-book The Christmas Kitchen – A Gluten-Free Holiday Made Easy. We will be launching new recipes and projects weekly so keep checking back to see what is new.