Peanut Butter Protein Balls

 

This weight loss thing has to stop.  I'm still eating carbs, just half as much as I used to, and this is ridiculous.  I must have been eating soooo much bread and sugars in a day.

Um, also, when you cut your bread intake, you are probably cutting major sources of fiber, too.  I've been sprinkling chia seeds on things when this becomes a problem.  The better choice is to eat things that include fiber so it doesn't become a problem to start with.

To that end, this recipe uses cooked beans as the "flour" binding otherwise no-bake treats.  Various versions of the protein balls exist on the internet, many using chickpeas as the bean to make them kind of like raw peanut butter cookie dough.  I'm headed in a slightly different direction to make them a little South Asian.

Adzuki beans can be hard to find.  I get mine at Sprouts.  Asian markets carry them.  Whole Foods probably does too.  I suppose you can use the pre-made adzuki paste for dim sum filling.  That has a lot of sugar in it already, so you wouldn't be adding more.

I'm using date syrup as the sweetener here, because I have it.  The majority of recipes use honey or maple syrup, since they are much easier to find.  Date syrup is lower in sugars than the other liquid sweeteners.  If you don't care about sugar, you can also use chocolate syrup as an option.  They will get messy, but yummy.

I didn't add chopped nuts or chips to mine, but that is an option.  Rolling the outsides in dry coating is also optional.  They do get sticky if you don't, but you don't have to.

1/3 C dry adzuki beans, or 1 C cooked
1/4 C peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)
*2 Tb date syrup or other liquid sweetener
1/4 C instant or rolled oats
mix-ins such as mini chips, crushed nuts, chopped dried fruit
cocoa powder, crushed nuts, sprinkles, or coconut for rolling

1.  Soak beans 8 hours, then drain.  Simmer for 2 hours in fresh water, until very tender.  Drain well.

2.  Mash beans while still warm.  Heat peanut butter and syrup for 20 seconds in microwave, just to get them warm and runny.  Stir into beans.  Stir in oats and any mix-ins.  Let sit 2 hours in the fridge, for oats to thicken the mixture.

3.  Scoop out tablespoons of the dough onto wax paper.  By my math, I should have gotten 16, but ended up with 15.  I wasn't going to take out 1/4 tsp from each to make one more.  Close enough.  Once portioned, roll into balls.  If desired, roll balls in a dry coating.  Chill to firm.  Keeps 4 days in the fridge, or in the freezer for longer storage.

Makes 16

Difficulty rating  π