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I have been working on changing my diet for about 2 years now. My desire is to become healthier and I knew that this would involve some dietary changes. I once thought I was eating healthy. The diet trends were deceiving me and I was deceiving myself. Although I was eating relatively healthy, my diet still required a bit of an overhaul.
I have been blessed with being able to see a dietitian a few times now, and she has helped me to develop an eating plan that works for me. I try to eat a low carb, low sugar and low salt diet. My husband once called it the ” no taste ” diet — this is coming from a sugar addict who has no desire to enter recovery 😬.
Getting Healthier
Since I have walking down my road towards greater health I have lost 57 pounds. It has not been an easy journey, however it has been a journey full of learning and healing. My focus has not been on losing weight as much as it has been on getting healthier. I have been using my blood work numbers to gauge if I am going in the right direction. There is a lot of gratitude in my heart as I see them getting better every time I get blood work done, which is approximately every 3-4 months.
Craving Yumminess
Cutting out the majority of carbs in my diet has sometimes left me with cravings of yumminess. In the beginning when I would go grocery shopping I would often linger in the bakery section and think of buying cakes and cupcakes and cookies (in fact I still find myself doing this from time to time). However, thankfully my self-control would kick in and I would walk away without caving into the temptation.
Since it was hard to find “treats” that I could eat in my eating plan, I had to start seeking recipes that I could make. It was either that or cave in and stuff my face with oodles of sugar laden treats and reap the results of backsliding into unhealthy ways. I had a criteria when I was on my search for the yumminess that I dreamed of. It had to tickle my taste buds and not lack in flavor. It had to have ingredients that were easy to attain and the recipe had to be relatively easy as I am not what you would call “gifted” in the kitchen.
Passing the Husband Test
Finally, it had to pass my sugar addicted husbands approval, after all if anyone can judge the yumminess of a treat it would be the king of unhealthy eating (he is slowly starting to change his ways — very slowly.
Protein Balls
One of the treats that I have been creating are protein balls. I have made a wide variety of them and have had some great successes as well as some oops. Sometimes an oops has turned into a success. I have been working on a peppermint mocha flavor and have had a bit of an oops. I mistakenly used peppermint oil instead of peppermint extract. In case you are not aware — they are not the same thing. My kitchen had a lovely peppermint smell for several hours 😬. The peppermint was extremely strong so, I had a choice, scrap it and start over or, try to salvage it. I like a challenge so I opted to see if I could salvage it.
Making It Work
After some tweaking of my original protein balls recipe I created a recipe that is hubby approved. In addition, I brought some samples to work on got some fave reviews. It doesn’t have a very strong mocha flavor and is more like a chocolate peppermint. I have some ideas as to how to make it more mocha and will work on creating that flavor in the weeks to come. These are not extremely low carb, however they fit into my eating plan. Using MyFitnessPal I calculated the nutritional values and it is approx 9.6 g of carbs per ball.
Chocolate Peppermint Protein Balls
1/2 cup mocha protein powder (you could also use chocolate)
3 cups oats
3 Tbsp almond flour
1/2 cup almond butter
4 Tbsp maple syrup
6 Tbsp cocoa
5 1/2 Tbsp almond milk (I use unsweetened vanilla)
1/4 tsp peppermint oil (you can use less if you don’t want a strong peppermint) — if using extract start with 1/4 tsp and add to taste.
Directions:
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. I end up using my freshly washed clean hands to mix it all together. If it’s too gooey and wet you can add more almond flour. If it’s too dry you can add a bit more almond milk. You are wanting to shape the mixture into round approx 1-2 inch balls.
Place the balls on a parchment covered cookie sheet and chill. I usually chill them in the fridge, however some people will freeze them. When they are set I will transfer them into a closed air tight container. The balls can be stored in the fridge or the freezer. I usually store mine in the fridge as they get eaten rather quickly.
This recipes makes approx 32 protein balls (depending on the size you create).
9.6g carbs,3.5 g fat, 4.1g protein, 2.3g fiber,1.5g sugar, 93 calories
Be Blessed 💞💞💞
Interested in more healthy recipes?
Healthier Recipes
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a nutritional or medical professional. I am sharing my own experiences and not advising. Nothing that I express should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with a medical professional before starting any diet or exercise plan.
The reason that I am providing some of the nutritional information is as a courtesy. I use MyFitnessPal to calculate and I usually will remove sugar substitutes (erythritol, Splenda, swerve etc..) from the final carb count and net carb count, as it doesn’t affect my own blood glucose levels. It is my intention to do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them.
I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
