Vegan Cookie Dough Protein Slice

Welcome to the other side of quarantine! Here in New Zealand, we made it over the hump and through the other side. It almost seems that life has gone back to normal and Covid-19 is just a distant memory, even though we are still so far from that. I say we are back to normal, I mean that by a new sort of normal, I figured people still wash their hands more and there is a definite change when it comes to border control but other than that, day to day life for me, has gone back to normal.

Normal life in our little corner of the world is pretty full on. We love to live an active lifestyle and its such a major factor of our day to day lives. On a typical weekday, I like to wake up early, around 4:45am and hit a workout. Some mornings, this means we go to the gym and do a weights focused workout, other days I like to do a core workout or yoga flow from home. This totally depends on my mood and how much I have slept. I used to be the type of person that felt the need to be constantly in the gym for hours on end and never made much progress, but as soon as I started switching up my workouts, listening to my body and actually resting I finally saw results.

Dependent on the season, we tend to go through a bulk and cut cycle. This means we spend half of the year trying to gain weight, and half trying to lose weight. Just because you go to the gym doesn’t mean this is necessarily the way for you. For my first few years of working out, I liked the idea of loosing fat and now I’m more inclined to be wanting to gain muscle, hence the switch up, and this often raises the old question vegans are constantly asked, ‘but where do you get your protein?’

Did you know that every plant food contains some protein? My favourite sources are:
– Tofu (200g = 30g Protein)
– Chickpeas (200g = 12g Protein)
– Hemp Protein (20g = 20g Protein)
– Almonds (50g = 11g Protein)
– Pea Protein Powder (30g = 22g Protein)
– Edamame (60g = 8.5g Protein)
… the list is endless!

I love to make high protein fun snacks for pre or post workout. As I do a lot of variations I find that whenever I do a high cardio session (ballet classes, hot yoga, stair climbs) I get way more hungry and this is where I feel I need to up my protein intake. So I came up with this Cookie Dough Protein Slice for happy snacking! Refined sugar, gluten free and made with whole foods, it is one of my favourite creations to date.

Vegan Cookie Dough Protein Slice

Buy This:

190g Raw Almonds
65g Desiccated Coconut
3 Tbsp Rice Malt Syrup
10 Medjool Dates (pitted)
1 Can Chickpeas (drained and thoroughly rinsed)
1 Scoop Plant-Based Vanilla Protein
3 Tbsp Peanut Butter
1 Tbsp Coconut Cream
2 Tbsp Dark Chocolate Chips
2 Tbsp Coconut Oil
150g 95% Dark Chocolate

Do this:

Line a 20cm x 20cm Baking pan with Parchment paper.
In a blender, mix almonds until broken up. Add coconut, 3 Tbsp Rice Malt Syrup, 1 tbsp Coconut oil and the medjool dates and mix until well combined.
Press mixture evenly into the pan and pop into the freezer for about half an hour.
Make the cookie dough layer by mixing chickpeas, protein powder, peanut butter and coconut cream in a blender until well combined and of a buttery consistency. Stir in the chocolate chips
Spread on top of the almond layer and freeze for another 30 minutes.
Melt chocolate with 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a microwave stirring every 30 seconds. Pour on top of the dough and freeze until solid.
Cut into squares and enjoy.