I am a huge fan of PB&J- any combo, any ratio, I'm IN! The unfortunate part is that it's high in both carbs and fat.
I end up making a good ol' PB&J for dessert if I'm going to have one. I'll use low sugar jam and peanut butter that has only two ingredients in it: peanuts and salt... not all the syrups that get added these days.
Protein Bars
I always use a vegan brand with clean ingredients- I have a bad reaction to synthetic sugars and different kinds of whey protein/isolate fillers.
BEST BRANDS: I LOVE the flavors that @one1brands makes, they're insane and delicious. Next, I really like @nocow. One Brand makes the best chocolate flavors like Chocolate Peanut Butter and No Cow does well with sweet flavors like Lemon Meringue.
You'd be surprised at how the overall taste changes when you heat up these bars. Depending on the flavor, some of them taste like a brownie or cookie when heated! I use bars to supplement about half the ingredients in common desserts- especially the unhealthy ones like sugar or butter.
Recipe: PB&J Protein Balls
Ok let's get to the balls! These are no-bake and do not require much. So instead of adding butter, sugar, or anything that will throw off your diet, we are just adding:
- peanut butter
- low sugar jelly (my favorite is strawberry for these)
- dark chocolate chips (there are a lot of low sugar/low fat options)
- Nilla Wafers
- flour (can be whole wheat or almond)
Directions:
- heat up one chocolate flavored bar (Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Fudge, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough) for a little under 30 seconds in microwave
- add 1/4 cup of chocolate chips immediately so they melt
- add two scoops of peanut butter
- add one large scoop of jelly
- crush about 5-7 Nilla Wafers and add to mix
- add a small amount of flour until the mix is less sticky and able to be rolled into balls
- roll mix into small balls, place on wax sheet and put into freezer for an hour
- option: crush additional Nilla Wafers and roll balls in the crumbs before going in the freezer
The balls are ready after an hour in the freezer and last for over a week since they are kept frozen. I eyeball all of these steps, clearly. You just want to make sure the mix isn't too sticky. People are picky about their peanut butter to jelly ratio, so if you are partial, add more of the side you like!
I consider this a dessert simply because peanut butter is high in fat and the jelly and Nilla Wafers are high in sugar.
This recipe makes 8-10 balls but you can make them smaller or bigger to change the quantity! Also, depending on what brand you use, you'll be getting up to 5g of protein per ball!