Hellooo!!! Happy New Year everyone! How was your Christmas and New Years? How is the start of 2017 going for you?
I was super lucky to travel overseas to Germany and Norway this holiday break! I froze my arse off visiting Christmas markets, seeing lots of snow, amazing architecture, beautiful mountains and castles and we were even lucky enough to see the Northern Lights (Aurora Borealis) twice!
I’m a firm believer that when on holiday you shouldn’t feel guilty about your indulgences. It’s a time to de-stress, to rest, to see and do new things, and (my favourite) to sample the local cuisine, culture and everything else your holiday destination has to offer. For a few pics of the food I ate while in Germany check out my Instagram https://www.instagram.com/theconsumption/.
Now it’s back to reality and it can be a little difficult getting over those sugar cravings from Christmas 🙁 My body is pretty good these days at telling me what I need (and I’m better at listening), so it’s been lots of salads, protein, fresh fruit, walking and a tonne of meal prep to get me back into my usual routine. How do you get back into it after a holiday break?
Fortunately, to ease back into work, we have a public holiday this week – Australia day! Every time I return from overseas I am always struck with how lucky we truly are to live here. We not only have one of the most unique and beautiful environments at our fingertips, but access to some of the most amazing food from all corners of the world thanks to our multiculturalism (yes, I missed you proper Italian coffee and yum cha). Food brings people together and hopefully you are getting together with your family and friends, sharing whatever your traditional dishes may be, to celebrate our lucky country.
So go make these Lamington Protein Balls and bring them along to your Aussie day! They’re grain and gluten free, refined sugar free and filled with hidden protein, but they taste amazing and will definitely hit the sweet spot without the guilt!
Firstly, make the Jam. I love the tartness of the raspberries in this jam. Once you’ve made this you’ll never worry about buying jam again, it’s so easy and totally guilt free!
You can make the jam a day ahead. Otherwise, wait for an hour before using it for the protein balls – it needs enough time for the chia seeds to soak up the raspberry juice.
Place the coconut, protein powder, vanilla powder, salt and coconut cream into a bowl. I always keep a can of coconut cream in my fridge. Keeping it upside-down means that any coconut milk separates even more from the cream so when you open the can, the cream is sitting at the top.
About the protein (I am not sponsored in any way for this post); my favourite is True Protein because of their minimal ingredients, real spices and flavourings, stevia for sweetener and grass-fed whey. I also get my organic vanilla powder from them, which I love as it is so easy to use compared to scraping a vanilla pod! This is just the brand I am using but you can use whatever vanilla protein you like in this recipe. You can also replace the vanilla powder with ½ a teaspoon of vanilla essence.
Mix all of the ingredients well together with a fork.
Using a teaspoon, place a small amount of mixture into the palm of your cupped hand. Using your thumb, press a small hole into the middle of the mixture. Spoon in a little bit of the Raspberry Chia Jam. Add more coconut mixture over the top and carefully roll the ball together. Place onto a baking paper lined cookie tray.
Repeat with the rest of the mixture and then place the balls into the freezer for 15 minutes to harden.
Finely chop the chocolate and place into a microwave-safe bowl. I used my Pyrex glass measuring jug as it has higher sides than a bowl making it easier to roll the balls in the chocolate. Microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chocolate is just fully melted.
Take the balls out of the freezer and dip them into the melted chocolate until they are full coated. Use a fork to move them around and fish them out. Sprinkle immediately with more desiccated coconut.
Once all are done, place the tray back into the fridge to chill until set. Any leftovers can be frozen.
Happy Australia Day all!
Lamington Protein Balls
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Easy 3 Ingredient Paleo Raspberry Chia Jam
- 60 g 2 scoops vanilla protein powder (I used True Protein grass-fed Premium Whey Protein Isolate powder – French Vanilla)
- 6 tablespoons chilled coconut cream
- 1.5 cups desiccated coconut
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla powder or ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
- Pinch of ground sea salt optional
- 100 g dark chocolate I use Green & Blacks Organic 85%
- Extra desiccated coconut for sprinkling
Instructions
- Place coconut, protein powder, vanilla powder and coconut cream into a bowl and mix until well combined and stick together when rolled. (If the mixture is too wet, add more coconut. If it is too dry, add more coconut cream).
- Using a teaspoon, place a small amount of mixture into the palm of your cupped hand. Using your thumb, press a small hole into the middle of the mixture. Spoon in a little bit of the Raspberry Chia Jam. Add more coconut mixture over the top and carefully roll the ball together.
- Place onto a baking paper lined cookie tray.
- Repeat with the rest of the mixture and then place the balls into the freezer for 15 minutes to harden.
- Finely chop the chocolate and place into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for 15 seconds at a time, stirring in between until the chocolate is just fully melted.
- Take the balls out of the freezer and dip them into the melted chocolate until they are full coated. Use a fork to move them around and fish them out.
- Sprinkle immediately with more desiccated coconut.
- Once all are done, place the tray back into the fridge to chill until set (about 30 minutes).
Notes
- Store Protein Balls and leftover Paleo Raspberry Chia Jam in the fridge
- Any leftovers can be frozen
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