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Every so often I have a day that feels like I’m playing volleyball with a shotput. It comes out of left field, sans any easy explanations such as lack of sleep, one too many glasses of wine the night before, or a Leviathan load of stress.
Do you have such days? For some reason, they seem to strike on Mondays. Go figure.
I’m not much a napper (they make me groggy), so my go-to tricks include drinking loads of water and eating foods that make me feel nourished and satisfied, including fresh vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins. And because a day without a sweet something is hardly a day at all, I include some sweet treats, like these easy, protein-powered, no-bake, coconut cookie dough truffles.
The key ingredient is chickpeas. Yes, chickpeas. Katie, over at Chocolate Covered Katie, is the mastermind behind the original idea. I’ve made some changes to make them my own, including the addition of vanilla vegan protein powder (I prefer pea protein, but choose the one you like) and dates in place of brown sugar for the sweetener.
A few of these, with a vegetable-berry smoothie in accompaniment, not only turns my day around, but makes me feel like I can conquer almost any task. Including shotput volleyball 🙂
Coconut Cookie Dough Energy Truffles {Vegan, Gluten-Free}
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole pitted dates
- 1 15- ounce can chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons virgin coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- pinch of fine sea salt
- 1/3 cup natural vanilla vegan protein powder, see variations for whey protein as well as no-protein powder options
- 1/4 cup unsweetened flake coconut . finely choped
Instructions
- Soak the dates in 1 cup hot water for 10 minutes; drain, reserving liquid.
- In a food processor, process the dates, chickpeas, oil, vanilla and salt until mixture is smooth.Add the protein powder, pulsing until blended into a cohesive dough (add a small of reserved soaking water if needed).
- Place the coconut in a shallow dish. Scoop and shape the dough into 1-inch balls; roll in coconut, pressing gently to adhere.
Notes
