Sometimes, it’s just hard to get a high-protein snack on the table.
You’re mid-afternoon, hustling your kids from school to extracurricular activities, and you just don’t have time to make chicken nuggets.
I’m certainly not opposed to opening a can of Freeze-dried chicken on those busy days, but more often than not, I try to merge our made-ahead snacks with our need for protein.
And in this case, our need for spring flavors.
I know I can’t be the only one who LOVES carrot cake! I never could figure out why people made fun of it, and talk like it’s not that great. I mean, cinnamon! Cream cheese! You can’t go wrong with those!
A few weeks ago, we made grain-free carrot cupcakes with a cream cheese icing that is to die for, but in this case, we’re talking about quick, no-fuss, no-bake high-protein snack balls.
You get your protein, you get your sweet snack, and you get your super easy-to-make, easy-to-freeze, recipe. It’s a win-win-win-win.
And yes, they still have that cream cheese goodness in them!
Now you may have seen energy bite recipes here before – I love my protein-packed energy bites, and especially my green power balls, but these protein snack bites are much lower carb, leaving out the oatmeal and/or coconut flakes.
Aaaaaand, leaving out the honey or maple syrup. Sometimes when I use Truvia in a recipe, my husband complains about it, but this time, the flavor was spot on.
Which is good, because maaaaaan those syrup sweeteners are just packed with carbs – which isn’t a bad thing when you’re looking for a pre-workout snack, it’s just not what we’re looking for with this particular recipe.
Also, keep in mind that the peanut butter we used was sugar-free – you know, that natural stuff that everybody loves to hate – just peanuts and salt. I know it’s not the greatest to eat by the spoonful, but it’s top-notch when you’re making a recipe like this!
Okay, so that leaves us with just one thing before we get to the recipe – I do typically use peanut butter in recipes like this. BUT almond butter, which is super easy to make yourself, works just as well, and in this particular recipe, pecan butter would add an epic flavor. It’s hard to find pecan butter, but… you should know, just in case.
Carrot Cake Protein Snack Bites
If you’re looking for some tasty protein bites to start your day, look no further than these delicious carrot cake protein bites.
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup shredded carrots
- 2 oz. cream cheese
- 1/2 cup peanut butter
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 scoop unflavored protein powder (I use pea protein)
- 1 Tablespoon Truvia
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, cocoa nibs, or raisins
Instructions
- Mix all but the chocolate chips together until combined well
- Stir in chocolate chips or raisins
- Form into 1 inch balls
- Flash freeze and pack in snack bags if desired (as shown in our healthy cookie dough bites recipe)
- Enjoy!
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