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Calling all chocolate lovers! These chunky monkey protein bites are made for you! I’m not even kidding, the amount of chocolate flavor in these little protein power houses is to die for. Plus all of the added good for you bits and pieces really make these healthy chunky monkey protein bites a must-make for biking, running, walking or just eating straight from the fridge.
A week or so ago an old co-worker reached out to me asking if I had any protein bite recipes that she could make for Ragbrai, which for those of you who are unfamiliar with Ragbrai, it’s an {almost} 500 mile, week long bike ride across Iowa. Yes, you read that right, 500 miles! Over 8,000 people ride during the week long adventure and stop in different towns along the way for mini parties.
So as you can imagine, you’re riding close to 70 miles a day, which means that you need to have snacks to keep your energy up during the day long rides. Enter these chunky monkey protein bites. They’re small, pack well into a small cooler or fanny pack
and are loaded with protein and healthy fats to help sustain energy.
They’re so simple to make too! Place the dried banana chips, dark cocoa almonds and walnuts {already good protein and fats} in a food processor and pulse a couple times to break the pieces up. Using a good food processor {like this one
} helps to break the pieces down really nicely without having to hand chop anything.
Next mix together half of a ripe avocado {healthy fat} with cocoa powder. I did this in my stand mixer and the paddle attachment helped to break down the avocado really nicely. Then the remaining ingredients {oats and peanut butter for protein, dark chocolate chips, honey for natural sweetness and chia seeds which are full of fiber, iron and calcium}. Stick the whole mixture in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes and then roll into protein bites.
We always keep ours in the refrigerator because they taste really good chilled, but you could also leave them on the counter in an airtight container. I had trouble not eating all of the batter while rolling these little chocolate chunk beauties, so good luck to you if you’re able to roll all of them without eating just the batter first.
What outdoor activity will you be making these delicious chocolate bites for? Let me know in the comments!
Make sure to #ionlycameforthecake on Insta if you make these dark chocolate tasty bites!
- ½ cup dried banana chips
- ½ cup dark cocoa almonds
- ½ cup shelled walnuts
- ½ large avocado
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/3 cup chia seeds
- 1 ½ cups old fashioned oats
- ½ cup honey
- ¼ cup natural peanut butter*
- ½ cup dark chocolate chips
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In the bowl of a food processor, add the banana chips, almonds and walnuts. Pulse about 10 times to break the pieces down.
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In a medium size bowl, either mash or mix the avocado until smooth. Add the cocoa powder and continue to mix until a thick paste is formed.
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Add the remaining ingredients, along with the chopped banana chips and nuts and stir until the oats are well coated.
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Cover the bowl and place in the refrigerator. Refrigerate for 30 minutes for the batter to set.
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Roll into 32 bite size {mine are about two bites} and store in an airtight container.
*Note: when looking for natural peanut butter, check the ingredients list. It should only list peanuts and salt as the ingredients. **Note 2: the balls can either be stored in a container in the fridge or on the countertop. I prefer to keep mine in the refrigerator.
Made these last night in anticipation of riding in Ragbrai later this week. So easy to make, and so delicious. My nephews are visiting and I’ m going to have to hide them if I want any left for the ride. They love them. I used pecans and dry cranberries cause I had them on hand. I put them in the freezer for a little while on a cookie sheet and individually wrapped them in press n seal.
Thank you so much Mary! I hope they work well on Ragbrai for you! Also glad to hear that your nephews enjoyed them so much too!