Kitchen Sink Protein Bites

If you have a pulse, then you've baked chocolate chip cookies by now. Social distancing has turned us all into bakers. My neighbor can't find flour on store shelves, and my friend in New York City had to buy her yeast online. I've seen more home-baked treats on Instagram in the past two weeks than I ever have, and it all looks delectable. I'm proud of us!

Since we're all trying to limit exposure, going to the grocery store is now on an as-needed basis. Times like these are an opportunity for us to improvise, hone our cooking instincts and use what we have. Hence, the "kitchen sink' recipe, where you throw in "everything but the kitchen sink." 

A week ago, I realized that I can only eat so many cinnamon buns before wondering if my jeans will fit after this Yoga Pants Era (TM). Yes I just informally trademarked that. My kitchen sink baking skills needed some adulting, so I made protein bites.

I know that I'm not big on measurements and am prone to say things like "season to taste" (unlike Sarah the pro chef, and thank goodness for her). But with kitchen sink recipes, we wing it with what we have. It's fun to pay with measurements.  Protein bites are easy, and here are the basics:

A base: Oatmeal, granola or cereal

A binding agent: Eggs. If you are vegan, go for mashed bananas, peanut butter or both

A protein: chopped almonds, flax seeds, chopped peanuts, walnut pieces, chia seeds or nut butters

A sweetener: Semi-sweet chocolate chips are best. Shredded coconut is heaven. But you can do butterscotch chips or a little brown sugar.

Salt: Just a dash or two, depending on how much batter you're making

Baking Powder: A teaspoon or two, depending on the amount of batter

Extra credit: A fine flour helps to smooth out the batter and keep it together. Low-carb options such as coconut flour or almond flour are best.

Mix all of the ingredients in a large bowl until the texture resembles cookie batter and you can roll it into balls. And don't kill me, but...season to taste. Only tiny samples, as the batter contains raw eggs. Plop jumbo marshmallow-sized balls onto a pan greased with melted butter or coconut oil. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes, but make sure they pass the toothpick test. Remove from the oven, transfer to a cooling rack and enjoy. 

For kitchen sink beginners, feel free to bake a test protein bite in case you need to tweak the recipe. After a little while, it will feel second nature. And like me, you'll relish the challenge!