Thermogenic Scientific Studies

Finding a healthy snack in the store can be difficult at times. When reading the front of a box, the company may claim that their snack is a healthy alternative for snacking. Then you flip the box around and read the ingredients and find a mile long list of ingredients that you cannot pronounce. One of my clean eating mantras is, “If you cannot pronounce it, you may not want to eat it.” While you may find some healthy snacks in the store, many of them are not high protein options. Rather than looking for the holy grail of healthy snacks in the organic section, I decided to take matters into my own hands and create my own high protein snack: No Bake Protein Power Ball. This healthy snack is simple to make and can be enjoyed by the whole family. Below I have listed the ingredients and directions for this high protein snack. This is a great way to treat yourself without going overboard on calories and unhealthy highly processed junk.

½ cup dried cherries, cranberries and apples
½ cup walnuts and cashews
1 ½ scoop vanilla protein
1 tbsp organic peanut butter
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp of water
1/3 cup uncooked oatmeal

Place dried fruit, protein powder, peanut butter and honey at the bottom of your food processor. Close the lid and only use the pulse setting about five times for one second blasts. This will ensure that the protein balls stay chunky and chewy. Add in only one tablespoon of water and the nuts and oatmeal. Then hit the pulse button a few more times. Everything should appear lightly combined and still thick. Do not use more water than initially recommended or the dough will become too runny and will not bind together.  You want the dough to remain fairly dry so it will stick. The peanut butter and honey work as binding agents in the recipe. If the texture is too runny you will need to add just a pinch of oatmeal and peanut butter to bind all the ingredients back together. Once everything is properly mixed, take a tablespoon spoon and scoop out a serving of the mixture. Place the mix in your hand and shape it into a tight ball. Place the ball in an airtight container and repeat until you have shaped all of the mixture into single serving balls.

This recipe takes only 10 min from start to finish and is easy clean up. In order to make more protein power balls, just double or triple the amount of ingredients in order to make the amount of protein balls you need. Place the balls into an airtight container and store on the counter or in the fridge to last a little while longer. The protein power balls will stay fresh for a week.

Yields 9 No Bake Protein Power Balls
95 Calories per ball
12 g carbs
6 g fat
8 g protein

Celsius is currently featured in the June 2013 issue of Men’s Fitness magazine in an article titled, “Snacks that Stack Up,” in the Game Changers section. In the piece, Celsius is featured as the perfect alternative when you’re craving soda that also helps you burn fat. The editor mentions that Celsius will “increase the amount of calories you’ll burn while exercising or even just walking to the water cooler.” Be sure to pick up the June 2013 issue Of Men’s Fitness to view the Celsius and the other products that made the list. You can visit the Men's Fitness magazine website for more healthy living, diet and workout tips.