Chickpea Protein Energy Balls and the Chickpea Diet Book
2013
I am excited to get back to posting new recipes for foods that I have been testing, and loving, after my month long green juicing adventure! I have been in the kitchen lots lately and now need to make time to come post and share the most successful recipes.
I have been recently asked to create some recipes with chickpeas, for a chickpea diet book. I was apprehensive at first, as I was looking to get back into my usual favorite raw food recipes, but I decided to look into it, and it made sense to me. Not from my raw food sensibilities, but from my vegan consciousness. I could see where they were prestenting chickpeas as a viable nutritious protein source and if you were coming from a mainstream diet, the book made a lot of sense, and created a great alternative to meat! That works for me, so I agreed to come up with some recipes and a perk is that I am free to post some here!
So my plan for the next little while is to alternate posting raw recipes with healthy cooked recipes – with chickpeas.
This recipe for protein energy balls is one I find myself going for every morning for breakfast lately.. along with my big green smoothie of course. But these make a great anytime snack and could even be enjoyed for dessert.Mmm, (I’m eating one now!) these chickpea protein energy balls are delicious!
Chickpea Protein Energy Balls Recipe
Ingredients
2 cups cooked Chickpeas
½ cup SunWarrior Vanilla Protein
½ cup vegan Chocolate chips
½ cup Coconut flakes
½ cup Rolled Oats
½ cup Almond butter
1/3 cup Maple syrup
1 tsp Vanilla
½ tsp Salt
Directions
Process cooked chickpeas in the processor until well ground and then transfer to a large bowl. Add all of the dry ingredients: the oats, protein powder, chocolate chips, coconut and salt. Mix well and then add the almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla. Mix to combine all ingredients well. Roll into balls using about 2 tablespoons of the mixture for each ball.
Makes 20 to 22 energy balls. Store in an air tight container in the fridge. These high protein energy balls are nutritious and great to have on hand for a quick, grab and go, filling snack.
Recipe How-To in Photos
Get together the ingredients; make sure you have everything you need.
I cooked my own chickpeas, but you can use canned. Chickpeas are a cinch to cook, and it is a lot cheaper to buy them dry in bulk and cook them yourself.
To cook chickpeas: Soak in a bowl with water overnight. or about 12 hours. Make sure to cover them by a couple inches, as they will expand in the water. After soaking, rinse and drain. Transfer to a pot with lots of water covering them again and boil gently until they are soft, about an hour. Drain. That’s all there is to it. It really is so easy! You can store these in an air tight container in the fridge to use later. They should keep for about a week.
Put cooked chickpeas in the food processor..
and process until ground up.
Transfer procesed chickpeas along with all dry ingredients to a large bowl.
Mix well, then add the wet ingredients: almond butter, maple syrup and vanilla.
Mix well. Then shape into balls. I used 2 tablespoons of mixture for each ball. I have a great little spoon that measures out 2 tablespoons for me. It’s pretty handy. Sometimes it’s the little things that make cooking fun and easy.
Btw, I am adding my favorite products to my Kitchen shop. I have affiliate links, so purchasing anything from there helps to support my blog and keep me posting. Thanks for checking it out!
Set them on a plate to serve, or store in an air tight container in the fridge. They should keep well covered and refridgerated for a week to two.
Enjoy!
