Get Energized With These Nut-Free Protein Balls

Do you ever struggle with what to snack on after a workout? Personally, I do, that's why I rarely break a sweat. But thanks to Alyssa from The Running Kitchen, I no longer have an excuse. She came into our kitchen and shared her recipe for simple and delicious pumpkin energy balls. We were thrilled to learn her recipe because it's so rare to come across a nut-free energy ball to begin with! And even more rare to see one that doesn't call for bee pollen, or rose petals, or angel's breath dust. All the ingredients in this recipe are readily available at your local grocery store and won't break the bank.

The Running Kitchen's Pumpkin Protein Balls

Ingredients
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup hemp seeds
1 tbs coconut flakes
10 medjool dates
Generous spoonful sunflower seed butter
Spoonful coconut butter or coconut oil

Enjoy life Chocolate chunks (for melting) 
 

Add all the ingredients to a food processor, or Magic Bullet in my case, and pulse until it comes together into a dough-like texture. We used coconut flakes but her original recipe called for chia seeds. Use either, or both! If using coconut oil just use about a half spoonful because it's oilier than coconut butter and might make the dough a little greasy. 

Scoop out portions of about 1 tbsp and roll the into balls with your hands. Wet your fingertips to prevent them from sticking. At this point you can jazz them up in a few ways. Roll them in coconut, melt Enjoy Life chocolate chunks (like we did) and drizzle it overtop, roll in hemp seeds, whatever you want to do to add that extra bit of flavor and texture. Refrigerate them until firm and then enjoy! Keep them in the fridge and they'l last all week, hypothetically. But they won't once you taste them ;) 

Jo and I were so pleasantly surprised that Alyssa already knew about Enjoy Life and other allergy-friendly brands. She told us that she has a few friends with food allergies so she's accustomed to making free-from snacks already. That was music to our ears. As an avid runner Alyssa is also used to eating the right foods to fuel her body before and after a workout. This collab was a match made in heaven. For more of Alyssa's healthy and beautiful recipes, visit her blog. What's your favorite post-workout snack?