Newest Raborns on the Block!: Fall Food Favorites!

#1 Energy Protein Balls

I had seen a lot of protein ball recipes on Pinterest over the past few years but always didn't agree with all of the sugary ingredients in the recipes so I decided to make my own! And I have to say, I love the results ;) and I hope you do too!

Here are all of the ingredients (above) and quantities:

-Plain Oats (3/4 cup)

-Steel cut oats (3/4 cup)

-Unsweetened vanilla almond milk (1/2 cup, may need more, judge by mixing texture)

-Vanilla protein powder (I recommend buying plain protein powder if you can to better complement the other ingredients) (2 scoops)

-Ground flaxseed (1/4 cup)

-Chia seeds (1/4 cup)

-Chopped dates (3/4 cup)

-Natural Jiff peanut butter (2 tbsp)

-PB2 (1/2 cup)

-Honey (1 tbsp)

-Mini M&M's (optional) (2 tbsp or more if you would like)

~ all of these measurements are approximates, judge your portions according to preference and mixing consistency.

Mix all of the ingredients into the bowl and you should end up with an extremely thick consistency. I suggest mixing with your hands, it is waaaay too difficult mixing with a spoon.

Roll the mix into one inch diameter balls and lay on parchment paper.

Place them in the freezer for 45 minutes with tin foil loosely covering the top.

Then transfer to a airtight bowl in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and Enjoy! :) I usually throw one or two in my lunch for work or enjoy one of these for a filling snack on the go!

#2 Chai Tea Latte

Four our chia tea latte recipe, take Biglow's black tea vanilla chai tea packet and steep in 8 oz of boiling water.

Once it has steeped for 2-3 minutes remove tea packet.

Add 2 oz of almond milk and a handful of ice.

If you want to get really fancy, freeze ice cubes of almond milk in ice trays for a two-in-one "ice cube".

The drink should be very smooth and very cool with all the bitter taste of the actual tea gone. Enjoy with a festive straw while reading your favorite book.

(If you want more tea, double the recipe).

#3 "Tai" Bowl

Ingredients:

For my imitation Tai bowl that is incredibly more healthy than actual Tai food is one of my favorite foods to make for myself but especially Cody. This dinner takes the spaghetti squash in place of the noodles and creates a beautifully wonderful dish. Pb2, hot sauce, and almond milk are used to create the Tai creamy base. After the spaghetti squash is cooked according to the package in the microwave, it is drained in a colander and placed in your bowl. From there I add the Pb2, Louisiana hot sauce, and almond milk. I usually put 1/2 the bag of spaghetti squash with 2-3 tablespoons of PB2, 1 teaspoon of hot sauce, and a 1/4 cup of almond milk and mix everything together. The dish should have a creamy consistency and amazing smell haha. One spaghetti squash bag (found at Walmart in the raw veggie section) will serve two people one meal. If you would like to add more protein to the dish, you can throw in cubes of cooked grilled chicken into the mix for a nice twist! Enjoy!:)

#4 Overnight Oats

With these overnight oats the ingredients are super simple and super delicious! This meal is easy for an on-the-go or quick weekend breakfast because you make it the night before and it is ready with zero prep time in the morning! So the ingredients include some of the plain oats (as seen in the protein ball recipe) along with almond milk and raisins (also seen in the protein ball recipe) and unsalted sunflower seeds. All you do is fill your glass half way with the dry oats and mix a small handful of raisins into the mix; and a few teaspoons of sunflower seeds and voila! After mixed up, add the almond milk slowly until the top of the oats are covered. Mix all of the ingredients again and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Sit overnight in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours and enjoy! :) (for extra protein, add a scoop of your favorite protein powder or PB2 to the mix in the morning)!