Quick, on-the-go protein bites to hold busy kids over until lunchtime, for before and after practice re-fueling, or satiating bedtime snacks without the blood sugar spike!
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Big school transitions…and a new snack need!
So many of you that have been following RGN for years, know that when I started this blog, my oldest was going into kindergarten. Well, she’s off to her freshman year of high school this year, and that means a new school! She has taken it all in the most confident, inspiring stride – I truly don’t remember having this much poise and confidence when I was 14! Her new school has been fantastic (she has come home everyday saying she loves it!), but we ran into a problem the first week when it came to the length of time between when she eats breakfast and that 2nd lunch she was assigned to…
Necessity….the mother of all invention!
I cannot tell you how many recipes on this blog have been created because of necessity. A need for a more nutrient dense version of an old classic. Or a healthier spin on something we were used to having. Or a food sensitivity swap for a friend or reader that I wanted to help with. These protein bites have been my solution to my new high schooler not being allowed to have a snack in between classes in the hallway, in class, or at her locker. She is allowed to quick pop into the cafeteria if she needs to eat something during the 5 minutes she has in between classes, and quite frankly making a growing 14 year old kid go from eating breakfast at 6:30am to catch the 7am bus, to having lunch at 12:30 without a quick snack is one of the most absurd things I’ve heard of! Talk about messing up metabolisms! She has a quick 5 minutes in between classes, and these packed out little bites are working perfectly to hold her over in the short amount of time that she has.
Protein Powder brands
Really any protein powders out there will probably work as long as you play around with the amounts to the consistency for rolling up little bite sized balls. We keep bone broth protein in our house since I don’t tolerate whey or pea protein, which are the typical sources of protein powders you’ll find. Use what you have, and really just watch those sneaky ingredients that can happen! If you want to try bone broth protein, I use the Designs For Health Chocolate Protein Powder (for the month of March 2024, you can use the code FIRST20 and get 20% off your protein powder!). You could also try Ancient Nutrient Bone Broth Protein, which is another good brand.
Let’s talk about the other 2 protein sources
These little bites have a very simple, short ingredient list. Mostly because I want to WANT to make them! I foresee these being a weekly prep item to help my high schooler with this very necessary snack need in the short amount of time she has, and I don’t want a fussy prep. My younger girls have also been loving them, so I plan to use them as little lunchbox bites, as well as after gymnastics practice fuel! Alongside the bone broth protein powder, I have added in nut butter (use seed butter if your school is nut free) to do the job of binding, as well a some hemp hearts to bump up the protein content, and provide a little texture.
A quick note on the honey
Because I know I’ll get questions from people wanting to either eliminate the honey, or use something different, let’s talk about the 2 tablespoons of honey. My protein powder is sweetened with stevia, so I’m actually not using the honey to sweeten the bites. I found that the little bit of honey helped with binding the protein bites better with a little moisture. You could potentially add a bit more nut butter to accomplish this if you have to keep these lower carb. I also wanted to add the carbohydrate to these bites to help balance macros a little, and to help with a little energy boost for my kids. The honey accomplishes that for me since the protein powder I have is not a good source of carbohydrates.
How to make Bone Broth Protein Bites
Here’s the easy part! You’re literally just going to stir up the ingredients in a mixing bowl, and roll them up into bite sized balls! That’s it! I have added extra cocoa powder to the mixture to make them a deeper chocolate flavor, or you can also add in mini chocolate chips if you like! Originally when I was making these, I was doing about 1/4 cup hemp and 1/4 cup oats – this does work if you want to make them that way! I was going for more protein so ended up at the 1/2 cup total hemp and no oats, but that is personal preference.
How much protein per bone broth protein bite?
I make about 22 bites out of this recipe – I like to make them on the smaller side so my high schooler can just pop them in her mouth and go. At this size, each small bite is about 5.3 grams of protein. You could potentially make them bigger for more protein per bite, or just pack a few bites at a time so there is more substantial protein count.
Bone Broth Protein Bites :: Gluten, Dairy, Egg, Nut, Legume Free!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Bone Broth Protein I use the Designs For Health Chocolate Protein Powder
- 2/3 cup drippy, room temperature nut or seed butter I use peanut butter most of the time, but you can use sunbutter if you are nut free or are in a nut free school. Or, any other nut butter if you tolerate nuts.
- 1/2 cup hemp hearts
- 2 tbsp raw honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 tsp sea salt
Instructions
- Stir all of the ingredients in a small mixing bowl until combined.
- Roll the protein bites into balls and store in an air tight container in the pantry.
Notes
- If you want to try bone broth protein, I use the Designs For Health Bone Broth Protein. You could also try Ancient Nutrient Bone Broth Protein, which is another good brand.
- I make about 22 bites out of this recipe – I like to make them on the smaller side so my high schooler can just pop them in her mouth and go without extra bites. At this size, each small bite is about 5.3 grams of protein. You could potentially make them bigger for more protein per bite, or just pack a few bites at a time so there is more substantial protein count.
- We are keeping these protein bites in the pantry – my oldest is packing a container of them to keep in her locker to grab and go when she needs. These bites should be good in the pantry for up to 2 months as there is nothing perishable in the ingredient list.
- I have added extra cocoa powder to the mixture to make them a deeper chocolate flavor!
- You can also add in mini chocolate chips if you like!
- Originally when I was making these, I was doing about 1/4 cup hemp and 1/4 cup oats – this does work if you want to make them that way! I was going for more protein so ended up at the 1/2 cup total hemp and no oats, but that is personal preference.
This little bites are amazing. My kiddos whipped them up all by themselves and just love having a snack they can make and help themselves to. We didn’t have bone broth powder on hand so we substituted Naked Pea vanilla protein powder with some cacao powder and it was a hit. Don’t refrigerate… learn from my mistake. 100% a countertop snack!
Hi Erin! I’m so glad you could give the kids a kitchen project that they loved! Thanks for the tip on the protein powder brand! Appreciate that for anyone else that wants to try that one!
Would collagen powder work in place of bone broth, protein powder?
Hi Sarah! Collagen is not going to give the same result as the bone broth protein powder – any other kind of protein powder will do though. I think if you wanted to use collagen you could, but you will want to add something else to “bulk” it up so it holds – something like almond flour or oats should work .
Great healthy snack option!
I generally keep fresh fruit and trail mix ingredients for pantry snack options, and wanted to mix it up a bit. I saw your fb post today on this recipe and had all the ingredients on hand and whipped up a batch for my 7yo and 4yo. They both highly approve! We use Ancient Nutrition chocolate bone broth protein powder.
Thank you for the time and energy you’ve put into making these recipes available!
I’m so glad your kiddo crew enjoyed them Megan!