This creamy cashew spirulina protein snack contains blue spirulina, a gorgeous color and rich in many of the essential amino acids the body needs and yet are hard to find in food! Blend with cashews here to make a super fun, high protein, frosty bite to help you power through your day!
Cashew Spirulina Protein Snack
Hello! I am back with another healthy pop-in-your-mouth workout snack!
And this time the base protein is not white beans!
I love my healthy white bean recipes as I hope you do, but I wanted a full-on protein option that could be used as either a pre-workout snack to boost my energy, or a post-workout snack to repair and restore. This one is perfect for both, because it contains all the requirements for the best foods to eat both before and after a workout.
Now you probably can guess a pre-workout snack especially needs a good balance of fat - not so high as to be slow to digest, but high enough to provide energy to burn. That's why these bites are perfect - 4-5 popped before a workout are enough to do just that!
How to Make the Perfect Workout Snack
Actually the science behind pre-workout food and post-workout food is fascinating, you can read more from the experts at Colorado State University who make a study of it here.
They emphasize what you probably already know, that good workout food should have all three macro-nutrients, carbohydrates, protein and healthy fats.
And my little bites have all three!
It all comes from two ingredients basically - cashews and spirulina. Blue spirulina, hence the pretty shade of blue.
In fact when my daughter walked past the photoshoot she immediately said "Cinderella bites!!"
The cashews are a wonderful ingredient for a pre-workout and post-workout snack - they actually provide all three macro-nutrients in one small package. That means these nuts - and actually most nuts, such as almonds and walnuts - are perfect to boost your energy before a workout, and perfect to help repair and replenish after a workout.
Spirulina ups the protein in this snack, and works to both boost your energy before a workout, and fix and repair your muscles after a workout.
How Healthy is Spirulina?
Spirulina is considered a perfect protein, containing all essential amino acids, as well as calcium, niacin, potassium, magnesium, B vitamins and iron - all nutrition necessary for someone who is working out.
The blue spirulina I used here has a very mild flavor, and a very mild color so I actually added a lot to boost the spirulina levels in each bite. I am not sure how much other brands of blue spirulina would taste in this recipe, so I would be careful to reduce the amount you use in your recipe if you are using a spirulina with a strong flavor. Or taste-test and counter any bitterness with maple syrup.
How To Make This Spirulina Protein Snack
Soak your raw cashews overnight, rinse and put them into a blender. Add in milk and blue spirulina, and maple syrup to taste.
Pour mixture into molds or mini cupcake liners or even popsicle molds. Freeze at least 4 hours and keep frozen. Remove about 10 minutes before you want to eat them!
Try More of My Protein Snacks
- Chocolate Protein Workout Snacks
- Strawberry Protein Energy Snack
- Cantaloupe Carrot Protein Bites
- Dragon Fruit Protein Bites
- Protein Bite Blueberry Recipe
- Tropical Protein Cauliflower Snacks
- Cashew Spirulina Protein Snack
- Butterfly Pea Flower Protein Bites
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📖 Recipe
Cashew Spirulina Protein Snack
Ingredients
- 2 cups cashews raw & soaked 1 hour in hot water
- 4 tablespoon to ⅓ cup plant milk
- 4 tablespoon blue spirulina (For this recipe, I used this brand)(Very mild in flavor; if you use a stronger-flavored blue spirulina, taste-test and add syrup to offset any flavor)
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup (very optional, taste-test in blender)
Useful Equipment
Instructions
- Soak your cashews either overnight or for at least one hour in water that has just been boiled. Soaking raw nuts is necessary to break down phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors that occur naturally in raw nuts and which can block proper mineral absorption and digestion. Breaking down both increases the nutrient availability of nuts, and allows for proper digestion.
- Blend rinsed cashews, spirulina and at least 2 tablespoon of plant milk. Whether you need more plant milk to make the mixture creamy depends on how soft your cashews are. Sometimes I add up to ¼ cup of plant milk to smooth it out, you can't add too much.
- Taste test to decide if you think your bites need sweetener. I never add it because my cashews and plant milk add enough flavor, but I don't like things sweet (haha, surprising, huh? Given all the chocolate desserts on my site!)
- Pour into molds (I buy silicon molds and use a squeeze bottle to pour it in) or use mini cupcakes papers or ice cube trays, freeze at least 2 hours (or longer depending on your freezer temperature) and then eat! Keep frozen until ready to eat - these melt faster than the ones I made with white beans so beware! Enjoy popping them post workout!
Tiina @myberryforest
Hi Dee!! As a huge fan of cashews and blue food I’m totally in love with this simple magical recipe. Thank you for sharing your magic❤️
Dee
Tiina! It sure is fun to work with molds! glad you like the idea Dee xx