Sweet Protein Bars & Balls

I originally had some Flax Crackers planned for today's post but decided to bump it back to tomorrow.  WHY!?  Because I am SO FREAKIN' EXCITED about these Protein Bars I made!!!!

This is probably one of the most tasty things I have posted on this blog YET!  Especially when it comes to "sweet toothy' items.  Since going vegan I really haven't had any dessert type items because I don't bake and no one around me bakes vegan items.  When I find them in the store they are very pricey, too.  I know I will have to buckle down and do my own and I thought this was a great start!  PLUS...as promised...I broke out my dehydrator and started using it again over the last few nights!  As you can see in this first photo - this is the batter of these bars!  I used my Ninja.  It did a pretty good job.  Especially because the ingredients were all dry and/or solid.  I was going for a chunkier texture than smooth.  Most of the time when I throw things in my Ninja I try to reach a very smooth texture.  Not for this project.  And I think it stood up to the test quite well, actually!

Before I get to EXACTLY what's in this I have more pictures to show you! 

After blending the ingredients in my Ninja I flattened it out on a plastic kitchen mat...it's sort of like a cutting board but "flimpsier" - don't get me wrong - it's not poorly made - it's fairly heavy-duty - it's just not a regular cutting board or wooden surface I have used in the past.  This is what the flatten batter looked like.  I'm not going to lie...I stole a bit of the raw batter and found it to be VERY tasty as is...but I cut them into rectangles and put them in the dehydrator so they would be like breakfast or snack bars instead!  I had a few little pieces leftover and decided to make 3 small 'balls' with the leftovers.  Scroll down for the photo - among others!

So...what is IN this Protein Bar, you ask!?  Well, let me tell you...

1 C Raw Almonds (Not Soaked)
2 C Pitted Dates
1 Scoop of Garden of Life's Perfect Food Alkalizer & Detoxifier Powder
4 T Peanut Butter (I used 2 T of Chocolate Peanut Butter & 2 T Peanut Butter only because I didn't have enough Chocolate Peanut Butter left)
1/4 C Fresh Cranberries

Now...a little bit about this RAW Organic Green Super Food from Garden of Life...

• Highly alkalizing RAW organic lemon juice and RAW organic parsley†
   
• RAW organic coconut water for hydration and replenishment of electrolytes
   
• Eight powerful cleansing herbs, traditionally used for centuries to gently assist in daily detoxification†
  
  
• Unmatched nutritional power from RAW organic grass juices and antioxidant filled RAW organic fruit and vegetable juices†
  
  
• Digestion soothing RAW organic ginger, plus live probiotics and enzymes†
  

Perfect Food RAW Puts the GREEN in Greens—More Chlorophyll in Every Serving 

Vegan • Certified Organic • Dairy Free • Soy Free • Live Probiotics and Enzymes • No Whole Grass Fillers
No Added Sugars • No Artificial Flavors or Sweeteners • No Preservatives

 Here is what they looked like after being in the dehydrator overnight.  I LOVE that you can SEE what's IN these just by looking at them!  The Cranberries - eventho I only used about 1/4 C - where PERFECT in these!  Overall these were SO FLAVORFUL and I really loved them!  I will be doing various variations of these in the weeks to come!  

This is PERFECT for me!  I think they are great to grab on-the-go, wonderfully filling for a quick breakfast and/or snack, or even a dessert or if you have a 'sweet tooth'.  

And if "Bars" aren't really your thing or if you find that they are too big - you can roll them into little balls like I did here!  These 3 are what I had for breakfast this morning in addition to a smoothie which consisted of GoL's Marley Raw Protein mixed in with Mint Chocolate Coconut Milk...I will be writing up a contributing article to submit to their product blog soon for that so keep an eye out on this site to read it in the near future!  I also made it into a vegan Ice Cream, too!

Words cannot express how much I LOVE these lil Protein Bars & Balls!