Ginger Fudge

Yep - we're still on the ginger theme. It's likely that this phase will indeed last out until the end of summer - let's see if it stands the test of time, shall we?



Moving swiftly on to this recipe for gingery fudge - my take on the original recipe over at the magnifique Protein Pow. I wanted something to satisfy a few criteria, being: 1) Snack for whenever I have time to breathe tomorrow at work, and 2) Something small yet substantial enough to seek out for a quickie energy burst, 15-20 minutes prior to exercising (at the moment I've taken a fancy to having a coffee about half an hour before working out (it seems to be aiding my runs tremendously going by my improved running times - 4.1 miles in 29 minutes today, woo!) - plus sometimes a little sweet hit in the form of a pitted date, for example.

And so, here we are. Not a lot to these little balls of er, gingeriness - just a bit of cottage cheese (protein packed), honey (added sweetness), ground almonds and peanut butter to stick it all together nicely - PLUS ground cinnamon and ginger, of course. Match made in (fitblr) heaaaven. Can't say no to that.

Ingredients: (makes 11 bite-size balls)

1 tablespoon peanut butter (smooth)
3 tablespoons ground almonds
3T cottage cheese (non-fat)
1 teaspoon manuka honey
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Small handful raisins (optional, for added sweetness)

Simply blend the cottage cheese, peanut butter and honey together to form a smooth paste (to fool those unsuspecting friends of yours. Nope, no cheesy substances in this fudge at allll!). Next in goes your ground almonds, one tablespoon at a time, and the spices. Finally, add raisins, and roll into balls. If the mixture is too dry, add a drop of milk to moisten the mix a little (I added around a tablespoon). Place on a plate/tray and store in the fridge for a few hours, or ideally overnight so that they're as 'fudgey' as possible.

Having literally only just made these, I'm already seriously struggling to resist against the urge of removing them from the fridge (and then entering them straight into my mouth). It almost makes me want work to come sooner, just so I can eat the damn things! Drat...well, maybe just the one won't hurt...

Nutritional info per fudge ball: 25 cals ~ 1.6g fat (0.2g saturated) ~ 1.8g carbs (0.4g fibre, 1.1g sugar) ~ 1.4g protein