Chocolate Orange Protein Bliss Balls

Hello everyone, I hope you are having a lovely week. It is snack of the week time again. Over the weekend, I visited the Big Vegan Market in Melbourne. It is an annual event and this was my first time at the market. I have heard a lot of good things about the market and I was warned to go to the market on an empty stomach as there would be a lot of taste testers. And the market did not disappoint – I tried a lot of vegan food and I was quite impressed with the creativity of the foods created. In particular, I was very impressed with how one small business managed to create melted cheese that tasted as good as regular cheese.

I was also inspired to create this chocolate orange protein bliss ball after trying a variety of bliss balls at the market from various stalls. This bliss ball is vegan, gluten free, sugar free and oil free. It is packed with good fat, protein and high in fibre. Each bliss ball is only 65 calories, so you can enjoy this snack guilt free and curb your mid morning or mid afternoon sweet cravings.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. As always, let me know what you think of this recipe.

For those of you counting calories and macros, please use the following table as a guide.

Makes 18 small protein bliss balls

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup raw almonds;
• 1/2 cup raw cashews;
• 1/8 cup cacao nibs;
• 1/8 cup cacao powder;
• 5 Medjool dates (50g);
• 4 tbsp. vegan cacao protein powder;
• 1/4 cup mixed citrus peels;
• Zest of 1 navel orange;
• Juice of 1/2 navel orange; and
• 1-2 tbsp. water.

Method

1. In a food processor, process the almonds, cashews and cacao nibs until the mixture reaches your preferred texture;

   

2. Add the cacao powder, Medjool dates, protein powder and citrus peels to the food processor. Process the mixture until well combined;

   

3. Add the orange zest to the food processor and process until well combined;
4. Then, pour the juice of 1/2 navel orange to the mixture and process until well combined. The mixture should start to resemble cookie crumbs now. Depending on how much juice your orange produced, you may need add 1-2 tbsp. of water. So, add 1 tbsp. of water at a time until your mixture resembles a cookie dough;

   

5. Once your mixture resembles a cookie dough, roll the mixture into protein bliss balls;

   

6. Enjoy 🙂 Store in the fridge for up to a month.

Happy making,

Suba

Xx