Gingerbread Protein Balls

THE WHY BEHIND THIS RECIPE

The holiday season can bring stress and blood sugar spikes from indulgent treats, but I’m here to show you how to have delicious treats AND stable blood sugar. These taste like a combination of a gingerbread cookie and a donut hole, and they pack approximately 6g of protein and 6g of fiber per ball. They are super easy to make - perfect for a post-meal treat but also fancy enough to bring to a holiday party or gathering!

This recipe was originally featured as part of a round-up of fertility, pregnancy and postpartum friendly recipes with my dear friends at WeNatal. I take the WeNatal pre-natal vitamin AND the omega-3 DHA+ every single day. With my link you can get a free Omega-3 DHA+ with your purchase! Alex takes the pre-natal for men and the Omega-3 DHA+ too!

WHAT YOU NEED

Gingerbread Balls:

• 3/4 cup cashew butter

• 8 dates, pitted, soaked in warm water

• 1/3 cup almond flour or coconut flour

• 1/4 cup vanilla protein powder (I love BeWell by Kelly Vegan Vanilla for this recipe!)

• 1 tbsp maple syrup or raw honey

• 2 tbsp coconut oil, melted

• 2 tbsp chia seeds or basil seeds

• 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 1 1/2 teaspoon ginger

• 1/2 teaspoon allspice

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

• 1/4 tsp kosher salt

TOPPING:

• 3/4 cup Lilys white chocolate chips

• 1 tbsp butter or coconut oil

• Optional: Finely chopped pecans, shredded coconut or mini chocolate chips!

HOW TO DO IT

Make the gingerbread balls

1. Soak your dates in warm water for 10-20 minutes. Strain out the water.

2. Combine all ingredients into food processor and pulse until you get a dough like consistency.

3. Roll into small 1 inch balls.

Melt the white chocolate

4. Create a double boiler to melt your white chocolate. Fill a saucepan with 1 inch of water and place it on the stovetop. Place a metal or glass bowl in the saucepan. (The bowl needs to be big enough that it fits over the top of the saucepan but make sure that the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water!)

5. Put the butter or coconut oil and white chocolate in the bowl and heat the water in the saucepan to a boil before immediately turning it down to a gentle simmer. If the heat is too high, the white chocolate can "burn" and get clumpy. White chocolate is easier to burn than dark chocolate so be careful here!! If your chocolate is clumpy, add a little more coconut oil.

6. Once the chocolate has melted, turn off the heat and take the bowl out of the saucepan. Wipe the bottom of the bowl with a cloth to absorb any water. Water + chocolate = clumps and we don’t want that!

Assemble, refrigerate, eat!

7. Coat the gingerbread balls in the white chocolate. Then put in the freezer for 30-60 minutes.

8. Enjoy! Store in the fridge.

SWAPS, TIPS & TRICKS

• Storage: Keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks (but I doubt they will last that long!

• Nut free: Swap almond flour for coconut flour and try sunflower seed butter instead of cashew butter.

• Want more protein: You can do 1/2 cup of protein instead of 1/4 cup, just add another 1 tbsp of coconut oil and 2 tbsp of nut butter.

Nutritional Info

Makes 10-12 servings, per serving

Calories: 266
Carbohydrates: 19g
Fiber: 6g
Net carbs: 13g
Protein: 6g
Fat: 14g
Sodium: 68mg
Sugar: 11g