Ballz for All
Hi friends! How are you? I am blown away by all of the amazing comments and emails on the Winter Shape Up! Keep rocking it out 🙂
(Holler to my friend Mara who made the widget for the WSU on the left-hand side of the blog– you can click it to get to this week’s meals and workout plan)
Some Mexican skeletons to start the day 😀
So last night, I wanted a little snack before dance but didn’t know what to make. Something small (dancing on a full belly is a little rough) with a decent amount of protein, something dessert-y, not too high in fats.. and then it dawned on me:
BALLZ!
I remembered seeing a recipe for protein balls on the BodyRock website—here’s my version:
Chocolate Chip Protein Ballz
Adapted from Shweddy Balls
-2 T vanilla or chocolate protein powder of choice
-2 T of almond butter (drippy almond butter works best)
-2 T shredded unsweetened coconut
-1 T pure maple syrup (honey or brown rice syrup would work too)
-pinch of sea salt, Stevia and cinnamon
1. In a small food processor, add the protein, almond butter, coconut and pulse until the ingredients are well incorporated
2. Add the cinnamon, sea salt, Stevia and sweetener (maple syrup or whatever you decide to use) and pulse again- the mixture will start to clump together. It wants to be made into balls!
Not quite, though.
3. Add in 1 square of extra dark chocolate (break it apart with your hands), or whatever mix-ins you’d like to use. Dried berries would be delicious, too. Pulse together one more time to finely chop the chocolate, and assess the situation to see if you’ll need more liquid sweetener for the balls to stick together.
4. Roll mixture into 4 balls with your hands.
Save in a ziploc baggie and munch for the perfect pre or post workout snack.
Check out the stats on these babies!!!
Amazing and SO DELICIOUS. They taste like cookie dough balls, I kid you not. Make these ASAP, mmm k?
For breakfast this morning, since I still had ballz and cookie dough on the brain, I had an old fave:
+ my daily green juice
(Current fave combo: 1 cucumber, 1 green apple, 1 stalk of romaine, 1/2 lemon, lil Stevia)
I’m off to do the workout thang 🙂 Have a great day and I’ll see you laterrrrrrrr.
xoxo
Gina
What’s your pre and post workout fuel of choice?
167 Comments
Leave a Comment
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
yuuuuuum. I want to make these.
Those protein balls look fabulous!! And so simple to make, which is a huge plus!
Preworkout I usually have whole grain toast with almond butter + a banana. Post workou, it varies: smoothie, veggie bowl, whatever sounds good! 😉
Yummmmmmm! These remind me of cookie dough.. totally going to try them!! I feel like they’d be awesome broken up and mixed in with ice cream or something like that as well. Great recipe Gina!
Ever since you mentioned putting lemon in juice, I’ve been doing it and it is SO good. It really does taste like lemonade!
Those look awesome! I think maybe I could sub a date or date paste for the sweetener in those, it would probably hold them together, too. They look…amazeballz?
yup date paste would totally work
amazeballz 🙂
Wowza!!!! At first I thought it was just the blog-world dates&nuts, but you went the extra mile!!!! I’m definitely going to try these. Your blog is so exciting!!
ballz, hehe
i like to have oatmeal a little while before my workout, and my post-workout is always supper, so usually a sandwich or something yummy with protein.
hehehehe…balls….hehehehe
I’m soo mature! Seriously though, those look awesome. Do you think you could use PB? I’m not the hugest almond butter fan. (I know, I know, I am the scourge of the blog world…)
Mmmmm, ballz 😉 I’m always down with recipes I can throw together in my food processor!
Holy crap, those look YUMMMM. Thanks for sharing — can’t wait to try them out!
I usually munch on some fruit pre work out then I plan my workouts before meal times so I can just go to lunch when I’m done. I would make those awesome balls but I’m afraid I would eat them all at once. I’m not very good with self control when I’m around delicious stuff.
Those protein balls look awesome! I love anything that tastes like cookie dough!!
Post-workout, I’m usually really thirsty so I’ll enjoy a green juice or smoothie to recover. My favorite juice combo is really similar to yours– I just add kale to mine for some extra dark greens!
I actually have all those ingredients in my pantry! I’ll be making those tonight!
Oo! Day of the day things are amazing! Love that kind of stuff!
I’m still working on getting the right pre-fuel workout and I’m excited to see what others say. Right now, it’s Luna bars and GMs!
Which workout bars do you think are best for pre-workout fuel?
Those look soooo yummy!
When I do Bikram I usually have a peanut butter and jelly sammie before class because its the only thing that digests well and doesn’t make me more sick while in the heated room. When I worked out at the gym, I usually had a banana with peanut butter before my workouts. I eat anything afterwards! 🙂
Balls that tastelike cookie dough! I am in! And I am lovin the WSU! Thanks Gina!!
Pre-workout I have my cereal bowl, and post-workout I either have a simple snack like nuts or fruit, or lunch!! I’m an early lunch kinda gal 🙂
The best part of ballz is all the jokes you can make while eating them!!
Those protein balls look delish!!
Ah good idea with the ballz! I will want to take advantage of such snacks in the coming weeks when I start teaching in the evenings. I won’t want to eat a whole dinner beforehand but will def need a lil somethin to get me through. Have you ever had to teach 2 classes back to back? Wondering if I should munch something very quickly in between or if that would go wonk in my tummy. I guess I will have to listen to my gut and see how I feel!
hey girl,
definitely munch something in between. at most i’ve taught 3 classes in a row, and i’d have half a gu in between each class. the clif shot energy gel (mocha flavor) is amazing- i’d have half of one of those, or a couple of shot bloks. you need some carb replenishment so that your body burns fat while you teach instead of eating away your muscle
Yum! Those protein balls look great! I must get my hands on a food processor, I’ve held out for too long!
Oh holy ballz! I can’t wait to make these.
Rock it out today Gina! 😉
Another reason I really need a food processor. I love the combo you had today for your green juice. I’m a fan of cucumbers in anything, but I think that’s the juice I’ll try next.
Those look great – I also love the bodyrock site!
I usually have nothing pre-workout since it’s nearly always in the am, and then a nice big bowl of protein porridge when i get home! mmmm.
I read your recipe for the cookie dough cereal and I was wondering, do you have to let it sit for a while after adding the milk to let the oats soften? I am looking forward to making some ballz today…thanks for the recipe!!
pre-workout i usually keep it simple with a banana + nut butter. but after i work out i love a green monster topped w/ coconut butter + granola. mmm….
I love the idea on your Ballz recipe! I will for sure try them. I agree, great for pre or post workout.
🙂
Those look delicious! I love anything with peanut butter pre workout because it doesn’t tale much to keep me fueled through the entire workout! Greek yogurt and PB dip with a few apple slices is one of my favorites! 🙂
Anything that tastes like cookie dough is a winner to me!! I usually eat breakfast a couple of hours before working out so I usually don’t have a snack.
Balls and juice– sounds like a great start to the day! 🙂
pre work out i like to eat half a cliff bar. looks like these balls would make for a good (less processed) replacement!
yum… i must make them asap 🙂 since i have seriously stopped working out for the last 6 months, i haven’t really thought about pre workout snacks, haha… i am going to try to do the WSU though and get back on track!
I used to shy away from hearty meals before cardio workouts, but now I realize it’s what my body NEEDS. If I don’t have at least a couple of eggs/whites + toast, I’m uncomfortably panting 5 minutes in. Though with yoga, all I need is a slice of bread with nut butter + banana and I’m set. I’ve come to find it’s dfferent strokes for different folks when it comes to this subject.
Thanks for the delicious recipe! I have made something similar and like to use carob powder too….and also, chia seeds. Is that weird ha? I love the seedy/nutty texture!
A banana with almond butter! Nothing beats it:) Yummy and full of quick cards, protein, and healthy fats!
These look yumlicious, I can’t wait to try them!
Yay! I love protein ballz! I put a few dried cranberries or blueberries in them too sometimes. Pre workout I do high protein snack, just like protein ballz. Almond butter on celery, handful of nuts, homemade beef jerky… Post workout is one of the only times I eat carbs (I follow the paleo lifestyle)…If I have fruit I will eat a piece, clementines are my favorite. Since I have a hard time with self control and carbs I usually just drink a Postworkout Shake from AdvoCare, its a perfect ratio of 3:1 carb:protein. It helps with soreness too. And on top of it, it taste like a chocolate milkshake and I don’t have to keep carbs in the house tempting me.
Yummy! I like things that taste like cookie dough! After a workout, I either drink a smoothie (any excuse to drink something that tastes like a milkshake), or I eat eggs. I CRAVE eggs after swimming. Oh, and cereal.
I have some questions about the cookie. Do you heat it up? Does the milk absorb into the Oats? I tried out raw oats looking at other bloggers do it and it wasn’t for me. Should I still try th ecookie?
nope, the oats soften in the fridge overnight
Yum, awesome idea putting protein powder in the balls, I’ll try that on my next round. My fave pre-workout fuel is a huge smoothie and post workout is usually anything with nuts or nut butter.
Banana and sunflower seed butter or almond butter is so great for pre and post work out. It sits just perfectly in my stomach.
How yummy do those balls sounds- bookmarked the idea and recipe! 🙂
Favorite workout snack would be dried fruit + nuts or a sun warrior shake and veggie or fruit. 🙂
ooooo these ballz look good! This would be fun to try since I’m snowed/iced in here in New Jersey! The only thing I don’t have though is coconut. Hmmm I wonder if they would turn out okay without it.
I JUST made the balls but I used oats instead of coconut (didn’t have any handy) + I added a bit of peanut flour. They’re delicious! Thanks for the idea!
awesome!! glad you liked my balls 😉
Great idea! I will have to try the oatmeal since I don’t have coconut either.
LMAO at Shweddy Balls! My name is Christin, and I have the maturity of a 14 year old boy 🙂
I am going to have to try your green smoothie recipe. im looking for a new one. 🙂
Love the WSU widget (and lemon in my green juice too)! Pre-workout=chocolate almond mylk + post-workout=green smoothie.
Love your green juice… Kristen (Kristen’s Raw) posted about her new favorite juicer… the Breville BJE510XL Ikon 900-Watt Variable-Speed Juice Extractor and I have been drooling over it for a while now. She says its easy to clean, which is the biggest reason why I haven’t taken the plunge and bought one. I’m afraid it’ll be a pain to clean and I won’t want to use it.
Pre-Workout: egg on toast w.slice of cheese OR pb toast w.nanerz
Post-Workout: green monster (click over to my site to check out my go to recipes for smoothies on the recipes tab!)
I can’t wait til it’s warm again and I can start to enjoy breakfast cookie dough cereal again 😀 Yummmm
I’ve been enjoying cocoa dusted almonds or baby carrots and hummus for a pre-workout snack. Hits the spot every time;)
Your protein balls looks great! I have a couple versions but I use PB in mine rather than AB b/c I am more of a PB girl. And I love how yours is a “single serving” recipe, i.e. 4. Not 25. Because sometimes you just need a few, not tons. Perfect!
Juicing. Sigh. I never do it anymore! I hate the cleanup but you inspire me to get back doing it. It’s been in the 80s here! and it’s totally juicing weather. I need to dust off the ole Breville!
Have a great day, Gina!
I love pb & banana pre-workout, and a green monster with protein powder post workout!