Description
Hormone balancing chocolate collagen energy bites; a convenient, tasty, and healthy snack to get in your daily dose of seeds when seed cycling to balance your hormones naturally.
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds or raw, unsalted sunflower seeds (see notes)
- 1 cup raw flaxseeds or raw sesame seeds (see notes)
- 1 cup pitted Medjool dates, packed
- 3/4 cup cocoa powder, plus more for rolling
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups collagen (I like Great Lakes or Vital Proteins: see notes)
- 1 (4-oz) banana
Instructions
- Grind the seeds in a coffee grinder or high-speed blender.
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To a food processor, add the ground seeds, pitted Medjool dates, and cocoa powder. Process until the mixture is the consistency of sand.
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Add in the sea salt, vanilla extract, and banana. Process until well combined.
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At this point you have two choices: a) add the collagen directly to the food processor (note: this can be a difficult task for your food processor since the mixture gets very sticky) or b) transfer the dough from the food processor to a large mixing bowl, add in the collagen, and then mix with your hands until thoroughly combined (note: this will be very messy, but less taxing on the food processor).
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Add a bit of cocoa powder to an empty bowl for rolling.
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Using a tablespoon, scoop 1 tablespoon at time from the batter and form into balls.
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Roll each ball in cocoa powder to coat and arrange on a plate in a single layer. Repeat until about 30 balls are formed. (If the batter gets too sticky to manage, put in the fridge to set for 15 minutes and then begin rolling again.)
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Once all the balls are formed, freeze the plate of bites in a single layer. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge.
Notes
A Warning. These are messy to make. The batter gets very sticky (thanks to the collagen), but that’s what makes them extra chewy and delicious when frozen. So as long as you accept that you’re going to get your hands chocolatey, it will all be worth it.
Seeds. If you’re in the first half of your cycle (Day 1-14 where Day 1 is the first day of your period), use pumpkin seeds and flax seeds. If you’re in the second half of your cycle (Day 15-28), use sunflower seeds and sesame seeds. Click here to learn more about seed cycling for hormone balance.
Collagen. Make sure to use collagen hydrolysate or collagen peptides, not gelatin. My favorite brands, both grass-fed, are Great Lakes and Vital Proteins.