Sometimes home organization is swiftly re-categorized from cheerful resolution to dire emergency, such as when the toilet overflows all the way down the hall into the basket of important papers waiting to be filed, or when the rod in the closet finally crashes to the floor—on top of the wedding china that’s been waiting to be properly stored (since the wedding).

Today was just such a day.

I’d been meaning to do a New Year’s purge of the pantry and refrigerator since returning home last week. We keep the both tidy, but the holidays led to the appearance of several mystery Tupperware, and I was also certain I’d spotted some early December expiration dates on more than one carton of yogurt and mini-containers of cottage cheese.

But other demands took precedence, and I let it go. I’d been holding off on doing a big shopping, instead pushing enigmatic elements to the back of the refrigerator to make room for smaller purchases to tide us over. Something particular was getting stinky in there, but I decided to play the fool and opted for the far more satisfying tasks of playing choo-choo and peek-a-book with Nick and promptly shut the door.

But today is a new day, so I am using up bits and pieces from the refrigerator and pantry to make an assortment of New Year healthy treats. Including these Chocolate-Coconut Protein Balls!

These give away some of the bits and bobs I wanted to use:

-an almost-finished bag of coconut flakes

-A giant pouch of chocolate vegan protein powder that I bought months ago, and had yet to open.

-a container of cocoa powder with little more than cocoa dust in it (I eeked out a tablespoon!)

-a jar of almond butter that had about a week left before the expiration date

But oh, what a glorious result from my scavenging! These protein balls taste like candy bars, but are filling, nourishing, and have 8 grams of protein each!

Hmm…maybe procrastination isn’t such a bad thing after all, if this is the result. Happy eats!

Chocolate-Coconut Protein Balls {vegan}

Author: Camilla
Prep Time: 10 mins
Total Time: 10 mins
Yield: 12 balls 1x

Description

Easy, no-bake chocolate-coconut energy balls–they taste like candy, but are made to give you power!

Scale

Ingredients

1 cup vegan chocolate protein powder
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/2 cup nut butter or seed butter (e.g., peanut, almond, sunflower seed)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoons nondairy milk
Optional coating: 1/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, chopped

Instructions

Process all of the ingredients (except optional coating) in a food processor until blended and smooth.
Divide mixture into 16 balls (I used a small cookie scoop). If desired, roll in coconut.