Guess what, guess what!
No, it isn’t my birthday… No, Santa Claus didn’t fall down my chimney… No, the sky isn’t falling…
In exactly one week, baseball season starts!
I love baseball as much as baking (maybe even a touch more… shh, don’t tell my recipes that!), so this is my favorite time of the year. The sun shines a little longer, the air feels a little warmer, the grass grows a little taller, and the stadium gates open for the first time since October. Happy days!
Although my dad and I are just 8 stadiums away from completing our MLB ballpark tour (we started the list when I was 11 as a special father-daughter adventure!), my parents bought season tickets again this year, so nearly every other weekend, you’ll find me in my home-away-from home above the visitor’s dugout, in the dark green stadium seats even with the bag at third base.
Before every game, I stuff my oversized purse with the essentials: sunscreen, water bottles, hair ties, pencils, my scorebook, and snacks. Since Dad and I always arrive at the ballpark extremely early to watch batting practice, the entire outing lasts 6-8 hours, depending on whether the game heads into extra innings, so I pack as much food as I can carry!
Even though concession stands circle around the entire stadium on both levels, their healthier options are extremely limited. Dad doesn’t mind chowing down on loaded sausages or BBQ brisket, but me… I prefer fruit, veggies, and leaner protein. These lemon poppy seed energy bites are one of the best homemade ballpark snacks for me!
And not just because they’re yellow-themed, like my home team’s colors. Each serving boasts over 17 grams of protein and less than 150 calories! How’d I do it?
INGREDIENTS TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED ENERGY BITES
Simple: my favorite vanilla protein powder from PlantFusion. It’s gluten-free, sugar-free, vegan, and clean-eating friendly — so these lemon energy balls are all of those things too! I haven’t tested the recipe with other protein powders, so you may need to tweak the ingredients if you use another brand. Not all protein powders absorb equally. If the bites seem too wet, add extra protein powder. If they’re too dry, add a touch more water.
Tip: I’ve shared lots more about working with and substituting protein powders on my Protein Powder FAQ page!
While the protein powder makes up the majority of the dry ingredients, you’ll also add some oats to provide a little chew and heartier texture. Use gluten-free oats for gluten-free energy bites, if necessary. And don’t forget the poppy seeds in your dry ingredients either!
To add a touch of sweetness, I mixed a small amount of Truvia into these lemon energy balls. It’s a granular zero-calorie sweetener that’s completely sugar-free. This recipe is easily adaptable though, so you’re welcome to try substituting your preferred sweetener! I’ve shared tips about how to do that in the Notes section of the recipe.
The bites are held together with equal amounts of freshly squeezed lemon juice and water. That’s almost too easy, isn’t it? No nut butters, no nuts, no chia seeds, no coconut oil — just lots of lemon juice. It provides some of the bright sunshiny flavor, but the lemon zest adds the majority. Don’t skip it! The zest from one medium lemon goes into the mix, and if you prefer a really tangy taste, go ahead and add the zest from a second one too.
HOW TO MAKE LEMON POPPY SEED ENERGY BITES
These no-bake lemon energy bites are incredibly easy to make. The “hardest” part is measuring the ingredients — or not sneaking multiple taste tests straight from the bowl!
First, mix together the dry ingredients. Next, pour in the water and lemon juice. Stir everything together until fully combined, gently shape into spheres, and refrigerate until you’re ready to eat. Yup, that’s all there is to it!
Tip: The mixture tends to be a bit sticky and moist, so you may need to lightly “squish” it into a ball-like shape, rather than rolling it between your palms like cookie dough.
Now just 7 days and 6 recipes to test for my cookbook until I can enjoy these energy bites during long, lazy afternoons at the ballpark!
And when you make your own, remember to snap a picture and share it on Instagram using #amyshealthybaking and tagging @amyshealthybaking IN the photo itself! (That guarantees I’ll see your picture! 🙂 ) I’d love to see your lemon poppy seed energy bites!
Lemon Poppy Seed Energy Bites
Ingredients
- 3 scoops (90g) PlantFusion vanilla bean protein powder (see Notes!)
- ½ cup (50g) old-fashioned rolled oats (gluten-free, if necessary)
- 1 tbsp (9g) poppy seeds
- ½ tbsp (7g) Truvia
- 1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest (about one medium)
- 6 tbsp (90mL) freshly squeezed lemon juice (about two medium)
- 6 tbsp (90mL) water
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combined the protein powder, oats, poppy seeds, Truvia, and lemon zest. Add in the lemon juice and water, stirring until fully incorporated. Shape the mixture into 28 small spheres, and place into a Tupperware container. Seal and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.
Notes
View Nutrition Information + Weight Watchers Points
You may also like Amy’s other recipes…
♡ Dark Chocolate Strawberry Energy Bites
♡ Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites
♡ Chocolate Fig Energy Bites
♡ Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Muffins
♡ Lemon Poppy Seed Protein Cookies
♡ …and the rest of Amy’s high protein energy bite recipes!
I think these have great potential. I wish I would have read the comments first or that there was a BIG warning not to use whey protein powder. I now have a horrible, gummy non-edible mess.
These look great! I was wondering how much sweetener I might need to add (and how much water to remove) if I were to use an unsweetened protein powder. I’m thinking of subbing in some honey and/or brown rice syrup but I’m not sure how much!
The amount of sweetener you should add really depends on your tastes Sam! You can easily swap in honey or brown rice syrup and reduce the water by the same amount. I’d suggest starting with a tablespoon, tasting, and adjusting as you see fit. I hope you enjoy the energy bites!
First off, there are two little typos in your recipe under the Note. You say that if the dough is too dry, add “milk*, and you mention the *bars* won’t set if you use whey-based protein. Anyway, onward! I made these on Sunday and must’ve screwed something up. They’re, ahem, strong. I followed the directions (I’m pretty sure). I did scoop and level the protein powder, and that’s the only thing I can think could’ve been the issue. The resultant mixture was just runny sludge, so I added more protein powder a little at a time. Eventually I got it to more of a paste that I could form into balls. They remain very soft, though, often tearing apart when I taken one out of the container. And they just taste like protein powder (I used RAW vanilla) with the bite of hardly sweetened lemon. Now, I love lemon, but these are a bit much. They’ve hardly been touched since I made them. In an effort to not let them go to waste, I rolled some in coconut sugar (I used a half tablespoon of that instead of the Truvia–another possible cause of the troubles?) and have yet to try them. I don’t have terribly high hopes due to how protein powdery these are. I’m sure something I did caused problems, though, considering the other comments on here. Any ideas??
Thanks for your comments Sherwood! This recipe was specifically designed for the protein powder listed in the ingredients. Since you substituted a different protein powder, that would be the cause of the issues — both taste and texture — that you saw. I highly recommend trying PlantFusion vanilla bean protein powder for your next batch because they’d turn out much more to your liking, especially if you love lemon!
I guess I figured wrong when I thought it’d be okay since it wasn’t a whey-based protein powder I used. Oh well! Glad to know the issue. I am running low(ish) on vanilla protein powder, so I’ll definitely consider getting some of that next time and then giving these another shot! Thanks so much for the response!
My pleasure Sherwood! Every single protein powder out there both tastes and behaves differently, so it’s hard to gauge whether a substitution will work ahead of time. I hope you’re able to purchase the PlantFusion protein powder and that you enjoy the energy bites made with that much more!
I have been craving lemon poppy seed muffins but not the high calories. Trying these tomorrow with Juice Plus complete powder, I’m sure they will satisfy my craving! Thank you.
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I hope you enjoy the energy bites Wendy!
About how many calories are in these? And what is a normal serving considered to be?
The full Nutrition Information is included beneath the recipe. 🙂 I hope you enjoy the energy bites Hannah!
I tried these last night and will say I also ended up with some very chalky, very tangy balls. I think I scared my husband from protein balls forever. I didn’t get anywhere near 28 balls (I think I got 15?). I used Garden of Life Raw Organic Protein Vanilla (Garden of Life RAW Organic Protein Vanilla, 631g Powder https://www.amazon.com/dp/B007SYT7LO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awd_GOe1wb18T3J8Y). I think for this batch I will try tossing them in powdered sugar to cut the chalkiness and tang. In the future, I might try adding real sugar instead of Truvia. Truvia always really turns me off but I wanted to make sure to get the same consistency the author described.
Oh goodness! That must have been disappointing Caitlin. If the energy bites were chalky and tangy, that would be a result of the protein powder that you used. All protein powders absorb different amounts of liquid and have different amounts of sweetness, and the recipe works best without any modifications when using the PlantFusion protein powder called for in the Ingredients list. When substituting any other protein powders, it’s usually necessary to adjust the amounts of other liquids and sweetness to get the taste and texture right. I’d love to hear how using powdered sugar works for you! 🙂
I LOVE that you and your dad have set out to visit all the ball parks! My husband and I have that on our bucket list too, but we’re still quite a ways away! Like you, I’ve been counting down to opening day only to be let down when the game was postponed because of cold temps (oh, Lake Erie)! I LOVE lemon poppy seed anything, but haven’t enjoyed the combo lately as most times it’s unhealthy. I can’t wait to try this recipe…and make it to a ball game!
Oh my goodness, I hope your weather warms up soon Allyson!! When Opening Day hits, it’s supposed to be baseball weather — not frigid and threatening to snow! I’ve seen clips of players bundled up like snowmen in their dugouts this season, and I bet it’s much worse for the fans… No fun! 😉 I hope you’re able to check the 30 MLB stadiums off of your bucket list — it’s so special to see them all! And I’d love to hear what you think of these energy bites if you try them!
Is there any way to make these set up using whey based protein powder? I would like to use my Isagenix meal replacement powder to make these, and it is whey based.
I haven’t had any luck with whey-based protein powders in this recipe, but these recipes and these recipes all use whey-based powders. That would probably be a better use of your protein powder Kelly! 🙂
Thank you!
What is the calorie count and other nutritional value per ball?
That’s included in the Nutrition Information, which you can find underneath the recipe! 🙂
Thank you!
My pleasure Kelly! 🙂
I LOVE these. How can something made of protein powder and lemon juice taste so good?!?!
They are a little chalky in texture, but the pleasant crunch of the poppy seeds and tenderness of the lemon zest breaks up the chalkiness. I expected that they wouldn’t be creamy like a full fat muffin, so no problem there.
I used vanilla soy protein powder i had on hand and the zest of both lemons and very little stevia. I carefully added water to get a consistency that holds together. We’re lemon freaks here so next time I’m going to try 3 lemons!
Yum. Thank you, Amy!
I’m so glad you enjoyed these energy bites too Sue! Your family sounds just like mine… All of the men always ask for lemon cakes for their birthdays — we love lemon-flavored treats too! 😉