Friday, January 5, 2018

Red Velvet Protein Bites

Red Velvet Protein Bites are naturally coloured with heirloom #beets and packed with chocolate whey isolate for a powerful boost. Healthy truffles? Yes please!

Red Velvet Protein Bites

As the resident chocoholic around here, 'I'm always looking for ways to make my indulgence a little more virtuous. While the holiday season saw it's fair share of cookies, fudge and brownies, I do enjoy including something for my giftees to enjoy in the new year, when all the resolutions are in full force.

These bite-sized, truffle-like bonbons are definitely chocolatey, but they're also full of nutritional power. One bite is rich in vitamin A, iron, calcium and protein, with under 50 calories. The power comes from a combination of beets, pumpkin, chia seeds and protein powder, which blend together into a red-tinted paste that gives these treats their name. To boost the chocolate quotient I added a dash of cocoa powder, the bitterness of which accented the natural sweetness of the vegetables and coconut sugar. Finally, a roll in protein powder helps them keep their shape.

Speaking of keeping their shape, it is imperative that these go into the fridge for at least two hours before shaping, and that they stay cool thereafter. If you can't eat them all in a week or so, freeze them - they are delicious still icy or thawed overnight in the fridge.

Red Velvet Protein Bites
Makes ~26
1 cup diced cooked beets
½ cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp ground chia seeds
1 tsp vinegar
⅓ cup skim milk
130g chocolate protein powder (I used Optimum Nutrition's Gold Whey, you can use your favourite)
2 tbsp coconut sugar
3 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tbsp coconut flour
2 tsp vanilla
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  1. Add the beets, chia seeds and pumpkin to a food processor and blend until beets have pureed.
  2. Add the vinegar and milk and process until blended.
  3. Add protein powder, sugar, cocoa, coconut flour, vanilla and process until smooth
  4. Add melted coconut oil and blend until well incorporated.
  5. Chill for 2 hours
  6. Remove from fridge and scoop into 1 tbsp balls.
  7. Roll in cocoa and store in the fridge or freeze (these are very soft - I recommend putting each one in a portion cup or mini cupcake wrapper for storage)
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 44.0
Total Fat: 1.6 g
Cholesterol: 5.0 mg
Sodium: 41.5 mg
Total Carbs: 3.5 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.0 g
Protein: 4.5 g

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