Chia Chai Latte Protein Bites
HAPPY MONDAY!
Well, it is for me at least. I had a BEAUTIFUL weekend. It certainly didn’t have anything to do with the weather, but it was beautiful nonetheless. On Friday I received the awesome blessing of an opportunity to meet up with some other New England area bloggers for a veggie dinner at Garden Grille in Rhode Island. Talk about good company.
These ladies are the bomb, and you might recognize a few of them :) Big thank you to Kasey and Heather for organizing this!
We all got the chance to share our life stories and how we came to love a plant-based lifestyle. There were stories of weight loss, strength training, marathon running, and healed digestive issues ;) But of course no one thought it was TMI. It was so great to join a table of people who were all on a similar journey.
My dinner:
We all shared two plates of these delicious white sweet potato fries with house-made BBQ sauce – YUM!
I got a chick pea crepe stuffed with kale and potatoes, topped with mushroom gravy and greens. Super savory.
Before we left, the owner came to chat with us for a minute and asked if we were there for a birthday or something. We told him we were all health and fitness bloggers, and he said,
“Oh! So this table right here could change the world.”
I think he has higher hopes for us than we have for ourselves, but his enthusiasm was intoxicating.
It is just NO coincidence that I came home from that dinner filled with inspiration for baking and cooking all weekend.
I haven’t created many of my own recipes lately, but I was on a mission. The result? These beautiful little treats.
They are delicious, packed with plant power protein, and not too sweet. Bonus? They have a little dose of caffeine too :)
- ½ c. raw almonds
- ¼ c. raisins
- 1 c. oatmeal
- 2 scoops protein powder
- ¼ c. peanut flour
- ¼ c. oat flour (or flour of choice)
- 2 tbsp. chia seeds
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ tsp. nutmeg
- ¾ c. brewed coffee
- ½ c. almond milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tbsp. agave nectar
- Brew coffee (I use about 2 scoops coffee grounds and 1 cup water). In food processor, blend raw almonds, raisins, and oat flour for at least 2 minutes or until consistency is such that it will stick together when you press down on it. When coffee is brewed, combine with almond milk, vanilla, and agave nectar. Place tea bags in coffee mixture and let sit for at least 5 minutes. In separate bowl combine oatmeal, protein powder, peanut flour, chia seeds, and spices. Add in almond raisin mixture and combine thoroughly. Pour in coffee mixture until you get a doughy consistency, about ¾ c. liquid.
- Cover plate or tray with wax paper. Hand roll dough into 1-inch balls. Place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour or overnight. Enjoy!
- *Alteration: replace raw almonds and peanut flour with equivalent amount of nut butter. Either hand chop or use food processor to break down raisins.
- *Alteration: for a sweeter version, add 8 drops liquid stevia or 1-2 tbsp. extra agave nectar. This recipe is not very sweet, as I’m trying to adjust my palette for sugar and sweetness.
I just pulled a whole bunch of things out of my cupboard to spark some inspiration!
Try out the recipe and let me know what you think!
Cheers,
AvocadoAthlete
(ps) coming up this week: new workout plans and my triple protein muffin experiment! GREAT RECIPES.
YUM! I’m so excited to try these with gluten free oats and stevia. They sound absolutely phenomenal.
I’m doing the same thing this week! The recipe I posted is not super sweet, because I’m trying to get used to much less sugar and sweetness in my diet overall, but I’m going to try a batch with stevia :)
I LOVE GARDEN GRILLE. those sweet potatoes, holy moly. LOVE your choice of dish! a chickpea crepe, how cool! it’s been too long since i went to GG or wildflour. I miss them!
The chick pea crepe was super unique – something I’d probably never make at home. Wish you could have been there Caitlin! Would have been great to meet you in person :)
I thought for sure this recipe would use Vanilla Chai Vega protein (which I don’t have on hand!)
I need to try this asap!!
I was thinking that too! I didn’t have any on hand, but that would probably make these taste AMAZING!
Holy YUMMMERS!!!!
Pinning :)
Tx for linking up to #RECIPEFRIDAY too!
Thanks for the pin! Love these things. Thanks for hosting RecipeFriday! I threw in a link to today’s blog post – one day late is better than never :)