Foodie Friday: Pumpkin Protein Bites

Yep, back on the pumpkin wagon! I guess I never really fell off. But you all know how I feel about my bites and I couldn’t let pumpkin season pass without making a new bite. These are different than my other bites though.. the base is a bit out of the ordinary. Usually I use gobs of peanut butter but this time I went for a different legume—beans.

Before you click the big “X” in the corner, hear me out. When you blend up beans, they become super creamy and because northern beans are mild in flavor, they easily take on the flavor of whatever you mix them with. On top of that, beans are a great source of iron, fiber, potassium, and protein. Sounds like a pretty good base now, huh?

Pumpkin Protein Bites

Makes 55 bites

Ingredients
– 1 can northern beans; drained and rinsed
– 3/4 cup pumpkin [not pumpkin pie filling!]
– 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
– 1/2 cup pumpkin protein flour [I used MyOatmeal PB Lean but you can sub regular peanut flour]
– 2 tbsp vanilla protein powder [optional—can sub coconut flour or more peanut flour; I used Vega Vanilla Performance Protein]
– 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
– 1 tsp vanilla extract
– 1/2 tsp sea salt
– 5 Trader Joe’s cinnamon graham crackers; crushed [can sub another graham cracker, but will only need 2 1/2 – 3]

Directions
Place beans and canned pumpkin in a blender or food processor and blend until totally smooth. Remove the mixture from the blender and hand mix in the rest of the ingredients except the graham cracker. Refrigerate the mixture for at least 30 minutes.

After the mixture has cooled, it should be sticky, but easier to roll. In a medium bowl, crush up your graham crackers. Using a 1/2 tbsp measuring spoon, measure out and roll your bites in the graham cracker crumbs. Place the bites in an air tight container and store in the fridge or freezer.

Nutritional Information
Per 1/2 tbsp bite

20 Calories / 1g Fat / 3g Carbs / 1g Sugar / 1g Fiber / 1g Protein

Food for Thought

Have you ever made sweets with beans?