I would say one of my biggest flaws is that I’m hungry…all. the. time. There’s nothing worse than being starving, therefore too anxious and hangry to make a whole meal. Insert solution: protein balls. Easy to make ahead, they last up to a week, and they’ll satisfy any sweet craving OR hunger pains.
P R E P
You’ll be relieved that this prep is easy. Everything from start to finish is maybe 5 minutes. Perfect, right?
What you’ll need
- A big ol’ bowl. Gotta have one big enough for all the goodies.
- A cookie sheet, foil and room in your fridge. These bad boys need to refrigerate before eating so you’ll need to make room for this in your fridge.
- 2 RIPE bananas. The browner the better! Ripened bananas have more natural sugars and taste so much better.
- 2 cups of old-fashioned oats. You can find this in the baking aisle, or in the bulk section at your grocery store.
- 1/4 cup of almond butter. Any sort of nut butter will do (peanut butter, cashew butter, etc). My fave is almond butter!
- 1/4 cup of honey. Feel free to do half this amount if you don’t want it to be as sweet.
- 2 teaspoons of cinnamon.
- Optional: raisins or mini chocolate chips (1-2 tablespoons).
Total prep time: 5 minutes
Servings: 12-15
Directions:
- In a large bowl, mash up your bananas first using a fork.
- Add all ingredients to the bowl (oats, almond butter, honey, cinnamon, and any extra goodies).
- I tend to use my hands to mix it all together since the honey and almond butter can get clumpy and you’ll bite into a protein ball that’s ALL almond butter.
- Scoop out a heaping spoonful (using a spoon or your hands, hands are easier) onto your cookie sheet with foil.
- Place in refrigerator for 1-5 hours so they harden up.
- Place in an airtight container, or consume entire serving…no judgments.
POST COOKING NOTES
After thoughts, nutritional information and how to store!
- These little nuggets have been a life saver for a pre-work out snack OR late night cravings when I don’t want to go crazy on some chips or other processed junk. They’re high in protein and crazy good.
- Each little ball is about 120 calories, depending on if you use mini chocolate chips or raisins. My advice is to just do chocolate chips, as raisins have a high content of sugar and tend to overpower the flavor.
- I store this in just a regular, air-tight container. Enjoy for up to a week, even if the banana coloring gets a little brown. I’ve never thrown these in the freezer (because I eat them so quickly), but they’re freezer friendly for up to 2 months.
If you end up making these, feel free to tag me on Instagram (cayhay1351) or use the hashtag #basickneads!
Basic Kneads 