These Red Quinoa Power Balls are usually the answer I give many of my nutritional clients when they ask about healthy snacks.
You always have to be mindful when eating snack during the day as many of them can be calorically dense. Snack and meals should always follow the 3 rules of good nutrition:
- Every meal should have a protein
- Every meal should have a healthy fat
- Every meal should have a carbohydrate
The ingredients for these Red Quinoa Power Balls include:
Protein: vanilla whey isolate protein, red quinoa proteins
Fats: almond butter, almonds
Carbohydrates: figs, dark chocolate chips & red quinoa
The chocolate chips make this snack really decadent and a perfect for post workout nutrition. If you think your going to eat these as a regular snack then you should consider leaving the chocolate chips out as the figs will give it a good amount of sweetness.
The figs just need to be thrown into the food processor for a bit before combining all the ingredients in a bowl. The almond butter should be soft enough to stick everything together. If not you can add a little bit of water or some maple syrup for a little sweetness and stickiness.
The reason I use Red Quinoa for this recipe is for the awesome colour. There are no known benefits to red quinoa vs. white quinoa but the red colouring looks great against the greens of vegetables, or as a base for chicken, fish & steak. This really impresses anyone you might have over for dinner.
Also, did I mention these require no baking? Which is why this recipe is perfect for people on the go. easy to make, and easy to travel with. I include chia seeds to give it a little crunch plus they have the added benefit of extra fibre.
Red Quinoa Power Balls
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Yield: 8 - 12 balls
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried Turkish figs (you can also use cranberries, Raisins or Apricots for different flavors!)
- ½ cup almond butter
- ¼ cup chip seeds
- ½ cup cooked red quinoa
- ¼ cup slivered almonds
- ¼ cup dark chocolate chips
- ½ unsweetened coconut flakes
- ½ cup vanilla isolate protein powder
Instructions
- Add figs or dried fruit to a food processor and process until they are broken down to small pieces
- Add all ingredients into a bowel, wash hands and mash everything together
- Have a little taste for sweetness, if needed add 1 teaspoon of maple syrup
- Wash your hands, rub coconut oil on your hands so the mixture doesn't stick to them while you make your balls
- Roll balls out and place them in an air tight container
- refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.
