Recipe: Collagen Cookie Dough Protein Balls (gluten free!)

Getting in extra protein has never been so delicious! These Collagen Cookie Dough Protein Balls are gluten free, no bake, refined sugar free, clean eating friendly and seriously delicious! The perfect healthy snack or dessert.

With only a week until our babe arrives, I have been prepping all the meals and snacks so that when we get home from the hospital, we have plenty of food ready to eat. 

One of those things I've been prepping has been protein balls. 

Call them bliss balls or protein balls or whatever you fancy, they're one of my go-to snacks because they're quick, easy and you can pack them full of nutrients.

When Naked Nutrition sent me their Collagen Peptides Protein Powder, I knew exactly what I needed to make.

These Collagen Cookie Dough Protein Balls are so easy to make, seriously delicious to eat and each little bite has 4 grams of protein to power you through your day. 

Better still? You can totally make them your own. 

Swap the cashews for almonds or peanuts. Swap the flaxseed for chia seed or hemp seeds. Swap chocolate chips for cacao nibs or bits of your favourite candy bar - there's so much you can do with them!

So let me share the recipe with you! >>

Recipe: Raw Brownie Bliss Balls (Grain Free, Paleo & Vegan)

A healthy snack that tastes decadent but is packed full of nutrition? This Raw Brownie Bliss Balls Recipe is gluten free, vegan, paleo, grain free, refined sugar free and so easy to make. 5 Ingredients are all you'll need!

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What do you usually snack on? 

For me, it's whatever is quick, easy or portable. If I haven't time to make anything, that might mean a nut bar from the jar in the pantry or a yogurt grabbed from the grocery store - but usually you'll find at least one container of bliss balls in my fridge created just for snacking.

They're quick and easy to make and eat, can be taken just about anywhere and last for weeks in the fridge. Better still? They're packed full of nutrients to keep you going.

Click to pin this recipe on Pinterest!

And I mean, when a recipe can be both healthy and include chocolate, what's not to love?!

These Raw Brownie Bliss Balls taste seriously decadent, but are full of good for you ingredients and no added sugar. 

All you need is 5 ingredients; dates, cashews, pecans (or walnuts), cocoa powder and a handful of chocolate chips.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Chunky Monkey Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie (Vegan!)

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I feel like I go through phases with smoothies. I either love love love love loveeee them - or I kind of forget the exist. 

Maybe it's because I'm not a smoothie-as-a-meal fan and stick to smoothie snacking - or maybe it's just because I'm too lazy to get the blender out on the regular.

Lately, I've been in a smoothie loving phase - and this mix is my current favourite. 

It's gluten free, dairy free and vegan but smooth, creamy and packed with a protein punch. Best of all? It takes just 30 seconds to blend together and hey presto, you've got a snack! Or a meal... if smoothie breakfasts are your jam.

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Plus, can you ever go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate and banana? I think not! 

The frozen banana in this smoothie makes it thick and creamy and adds sweetness without any sugar whilst the peanut flour (or even PB2!) adds protein and thickens the smoothie even more. 

It's a "Chunky Monkey" inspired smoothie that's delicious enough for dessert and so easy to make.

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: No Bake Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Dough Bites (Gluten Free & Vegan)

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Remember how I told you we always have a container of homemade bliss balls in the fridge? (back here)

Well, I get bored of things fast so every batch of bliss balls is a new flavour - but lately this one seems to be made on repeat. 

I love cinnamon. Like... I have to buy the giant container of cinnamon from Costco kinda love. This raw bite recipe has just the right amount of cinnamon and a whole lot of chewy, cookie dough like goodness - meaning it's pretty much the perfect snack!

Oatmeal Raisin Cookies are one of those baked goods I feel are always overlooked.

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They don't have chocolate - and oats and raisins are considered "healthy" items and people don't exactly go looking for cookies when they're feeling like something healthy... do they?

But to me? They're one of the best cookie combinations. That almost nutty like flavour of the oatmeal, paired with chewy raisins? Heaven. 

These Cinnamon Raisin Cookie Dough Raw Balls are currently my favourite because they have all the things I love about an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - with only half the work.

There's no baking, waiting for dough to chill, messing about with creaming butter and sugar - all you have to do is throw the ingredients in a food processor, process and you're good to go.

And let's not forget they're healthy too! These raw bites are also vegan, sugar free and freezer friendly too - making them the perfect meal prep recipe!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Blueberry Smoothie Protein Bites (Gluten Free & Vegan)

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Ever since we got our new fridge, I've realised I've created a new habit... 

On the top shelf on the right hand side, you will almost always find a container of homemade bliss balls. 

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They're the perfect on the go snack as they're bite sized and protein packed - but really, we keep on making them just because they're delicious. 

If Jesse gets home and doesn't see some kind of new baked treat on the counter top, he'll head straight to the top right of the fridge to grab a protein ball - particularly if it's this No Bake Cookie Dough Protein Balls Recipe (his all time favourite). 

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Lately, however, there's a new favourite in town! Originally I planned on making blueberry muffin bites, however, I decided mid way through to make a portable version of a blueberry protein smoothie and oooooooh mama was it a good idea!

These Blueberry Smoothie Protein Balls are all sorts of delicious - and so simple to make!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Easy No Bake Cookie Dough Protein Bites

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You know what I've realised lately? 

My husband comes home from work every day and immediately looks around the kitchen to see if I've been baking or cooking something. 

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Yesterday, Jesse came home from work to find a batch of blueberry muffins on top of the stove from a sort of failed recipe test. I said "oh, you won't like them" and he thought I was lying to fake him out of trying them because they were actually delicious and I didn't want to share so he ate one (and loved it - I was wrong!).

But as he went to the fridge to get some water, he spotted these cookie dough bites. 

OOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH

What are theseeeee?!?! 

Before I knew it, he'd popped open the container and had grabbed one for himself. 

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With a mouthful of food, he looked at me with wide eyes. 

WHY HAVE YOU BEEN HOLDING OUT ON ME?!

These are SO good!

They're mine... alll mineeee!

Then I realised why I usually hide these cookie dough protein balls 😝

So since I have to share them with my husband (and they were such a huge hit!), I thought I'd share them with you too!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Italian Garlic and Herb Roasted Chickpeas

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If Jesse ever needed to change jobs, I think he should probably consider being a roasted chickpea salesman. 

You see, roasted chickpeas and roasted fava beans were one of the first healthy snacks he fell in love with - and he's been convincing people to buy them ever since. They're crunchy, flavoursome and the perfect alternative to chips and Jesse can rarely go a day without them. 

Unfortunately for me, that roasted chickpea habit can get a little expensive - so something needed to change. 

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I knew Jesse wouldn't let me stop buying roasted chickpeas without having an alternative that was even better - and thus I had a mission. 

I needed to come up with my own roasted chickpea flavours that were even better than anything could be bought. They needed to be made with healthy ingredients, free from funky additives and easy to make in big batches.... and this recipe ticks all of those boxes. 

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We call these "Pizza Chickpeas" in our house because they have a delicious Italian inspired flavour. They're kind of cheesy and all sorts of delicious and they're jam packed full of nutrients. 

Nutritional yeast adds a cheesy flavour with a protein and vitamin B boost whilst fresh (or dried) herbs add that traditional Italian flair. They're cheap to make (even organic chickpeas can be found for around $1 a can) and super simple - making them the perfect healthy snack!

So let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Caramel Latte Protein Bites (Grain Free & Vegan)

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These protein bites are what I liked to call a happy accident. 

You see, I was fumbling around the kitchen on a lazy Saturday afternoon when I decided I needed to create a recipe that used both my GIANT Costco sized jar of Almond Butter and my new coffee blend and since I just finished up a sweaty zumba class, it may as well pack a protein punch too. 

So I got out my food processor, grabbed my protein powder, almond butter and coffee and decided that I was going to make protein bites. 

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Add a little coconut flour, some almond meal to make sure they weren't too dry and crumbly and some maple syrup to sweeten things up and bind it all together and heyyyyyy mama, you've got protein bites. 

Before I exerted any more energy rolling them, I had to make sure they were worth it though - so I pinched together some of the dough and popped it in my mouth. 

Chew... 

Savour... 

Caramel latte. 

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With just the right amount of coffee flavour, the caramel like taste of the maple syrup and the creaminess of the whey protein powder (though there's a vegan option below that's just as good!), these little bites tasted very much like a caramel latte - only in a portable, no-risk, ball shaped package. 

No risk because we live in a world where coffee cups contain "Warning! Hot!" labels and these are definitely not hot.... though they probably need a "Warning! Addictive!" label. 

I'm pretty sure I ate half the batch in a day, making a double batch the next day to store in the fridge in my favourite Babushka Doll container.

But let me share the recipe with you! >> 

Recipe: Banana Energy Bars (Vegan & Grain Free!)

I'm a girl who needs serious fuel. I have a crazy busy schedule and a pretty active life and that means I need fuel in my tank if I want to achieve all the things I've got to do. 

When I'm running here, there and everywhere, that fuel has to come in the form of quick and easy snacks - and today I'm sharing one of our latest faves. These snack bars were actually inspired by Banana Leda Bars and whilst they don't have the same texture (as Leda bars use dried banana), they taste EVEN BETTER!

You see, I wanted to create a snack bar that was packed full of goodness and flavour but also a bar that was gluten free, sugar free, egg free and vegan - and just so I could please everyone, I also wanted to make sure it was grain free with nut free options too!

They're the perfect snack to throw into your handbag on the way out the door and are great for lunchboxes as they can be customised to suit your needs.

They're filled with healthy fats and naturally sweetened and the recipe gives you the option to make it your own. Whether you want thick cakey bars or larger thinner bars, bars with raisins mixed throughout or big chunky walnut pieces - the choice is yours!

So let me share the recipe with you! >>