Turmeric has made an appearance on this blog several times now {Plant Plate Special, Yellow Quinoa} and I’m not sure if it is a result of having a Persian grandmother whose fingers have been stained a glistening turmeric yellow for as long as I can remember or if I’m just a food blogging statistic in a new wave of turmeric spiced food and drinks {ie: chickpeas and golden milk lattes}.
Either way, when I reconnected with my brilliant dietitian friend Brigitte from BZ Nutrition we decided to get together in the kitchen {normal people meet for coffee or a drink, BTW…} and do something ballsy and somehow turmeric made yet another debut.
The result? A portable and nutrient dense pre-workout snack that is hip, tasty and appealing from the inside out. Finding foods that work for you before exercise can be a challenge and keep in mind that different foods work for different people. In general, my rule is eat a balanced meal ~2-3 hours before working out, or a snack ~30-60 minutes before exercise. These snacks should be low-ish in fiber and well tolerated {don’t want you running to the bathroom after 5 minutes on the treadmill}, they should be energy dense to provide adequate calories {food=fuel} and they should provide essential nutrients {yea, you can eat a bag of pretzels, but where’s the nutritional value in that?}. Some ideas to try: a banana and tablespoon of creamy peanut butter, 1-2 rice cakes with hummus or plain yogurt with 1-2 dates. Or…. If my Persian grandmother was to ever have a pre-work snack {she’s a champion walker in the LA area, BTW}, she would use her turmeric stained fingers to make this Golden Milk Ball thing {recipe below}…
Golden Milk Balls
Active time: 20 minutes Total time: ~90 minutes {includes time spent baking sweet potato}
Servings: 18 balls {serving size: 2 balls}
Ingredients:
1 cup baked sweet potato
*wrap sweet potato in foil, bake at 425 degrees for ~45 minutes or until bake potato is soft; remove skin
*wrap sweet potato in foil, bake at 425 degrees for ~45 minutes or until bake potato is soft; remove skin
and mash with back of spoon
1/4 cup Siggi’s coconut 2% yogurt
1/2 cup pitted medjool dates
1 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
~3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut for rolling
Directions:
- Grind all ingredients in a food processor until all ingredients are well combined {see photo above}
- Form mixture into 1-inch balls and then roll in the shredded coconut until well coated
- Lay balls out on a flat baking sheet and refrigerate for ~20 minutes until they are firm and set
- Enjoy 🙂 and store in the refrigerator
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