Peanut Butter Protein Balls

The exact ratio of ingredients will depend a little on the kinds of protein powder and peanut butter you use, also taste. I used Designer Protein, French Vanilla flavor, for this basic recipe, but chocolate and other flavors work fine as well. If the peanut butter has more oil (natural peanut butters will vary quite a bit in the amount of oil), you'll probably need more protein powder. Also, the amount of sweetener is obviously to taste. Note that these balls are soft at room temperature so you can't throw them in a bag and expect that they will hold their shape.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar-free peanut butter
• 4 scoops (or 1 and 1/3 cups) whey protein powder -- most are low in carbs, but check -- any flavor
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Artificial sweetener to taste, about 1-1½ cup (some protein powders have sweeteners as well)

Preparation:

Put all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix all at once. A mixer works great for this, but a food processor would probably be fine as well, or just a spoon. Then roll into balls. If you like, roll in crushed nuts. I've mixed almond meal with powdered erythritol and that worked well as a coating.

For sweetener, I use the most concentrated liquid sucralose (Splenda). In the past, I made the mistake of trying to add too much liquid in the form of Da Vinci's syrups for flavoring. To my dismay, it is possible to turn the whole thing into a ropey, gluey mess. I never figured out what the chemical reaction was, but it happened to me more than once. On the other hand, protein powders are fine added to shakes, so it couldn't have been just the liquid. It must have been the exact combination of fat, protein and liquid. If any food chemists have an idea about what might have happened, let me know!

I think powdered erythritol would work as a sweetener with the chocolate flavor.

Makes approximately 16 balls about one inch in diameter.

Nutritional Information: Assuming zero-carb sweetener, each ball has 3 grams effective carbohydrate plus 1 gram fiber, 9 grams protein, and 118 calories.

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