First let me run down my night before I reveal my masterpiece.

I went to the gym after work last night.  My legs still have some residual soreness from last Thursday so I knew a long run was out and it was time to go back to upper body.  I just don’t get as excited about upper body workouts, but I know they must be done.  I just get bored with upper body workouts.  Instead of focusing on my arms, I decided to mix it up and concentrate on back and abs, two workouts I actually like.

Last night’s back and ab workout:

It was marvelous.  I never thought I would be able to make anything without meticulously following a recipe.  I like lists and I like following step by step directions which is why I think I had success in baking and not regular meal preparation.  I lacked the confidence and creativity to think outside the box and throw things together to make a meal.

I knew that dates were the foundation of a lot of healthy bars (think Lara), and I just so happened to have a large amount of them in the pantry.  Next to the dates I saw the sad bag of failed almond flour I had tried to make for the white chocolate macadamia nut cookies which ended up as a mix between finely chopped almonds and almond meal.

Granted, this is not a very complex recipe, but I made it!  Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I do 🙂

No Bake Apple Pie Protein Balls

– 18-20 pitted dates
– 1/4 cup chopped almonds
– 1 Tbsp chia seeds
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1 tsp apple pie spice

Yield: about 10 balls

1. In your Vitamix (or food processor), pulse dates and almonds together until combined.  (If you have whole almonds, you may want to chop those first in the container and then add the dates to combine).
2. Add chia seeds, vanilla extract, and apple pie spice.  Pulse (if using a food processor) or blend on setting 2 (Vitamix) until ingredients are combined and a sticky dough is formed.
3. Transfer to a bowl and form balls with your hands.  Make sure to firmly press the dough together so it sticks.  Once done, put in the refrigerator to firm up.

The chia seeds are optional and give the balls a little crunch.  I am obsessed with them lately so I just keep throwing them in everything.  In 1 Tbsp of chia seeds there are 3g of protein, hence the word protein in the name.  If omitting, they will be No Bake Apple Pie Balls (but still delicious!).

That’s it! These took very little time to make and were delicious!  I’m glad I found a use for the apple pie spice I have.  I tried mixing it up and using it in my oatmeal instead of pumpkin pie spice, but for me there was just no replacement. There are so many combinations that I can make and I am looking forward to trying some more out.  Hopefully I will slowly but surely work my way up to making other healthy treats 🙂

Question(s) of the day: Have you ever made a recipe from scratch? What suggestions do you have?

Thanks everyone for reading and let me know if any of you make these and can offer any improvements or alterations.  Have a great Tuesday! Hopefully you aren’t being forced to stay home today :/