Chunky Monkey Protein Donuts

Hello and Happy Humpday!

As someone who used to have a non-traditional job for 5 years, it’s still weird for me sometimes to think of weeks as Monday through Friday, and weekends as actual weekends… but anywho, where I’m going with this is that sometimes you need a lil somethin’ somethin’ to spruce up a weekday since counting down the minutes until the weekend is no way to live, y’all.

I made these donuts last Sunday when I had some extra time to myself, and having them as a mid-week treat has seriously brightened up an otherwise fairly boring day. I’m also not one of those people who like, waits until Sunday to treat themselves (food wise), because screw that, I deserve to treat myself whenever I want to and SO DO YOU. That being said, these donuts are the perfect sweet treat when you don’t want to completely derail your diet since they’re full of protein and have clean ingredients, save for the chocolate chips, which are optional if you’re boring…or just don’t like chocolate 🙂

I recently got my hands some of the Rootz Nutrition paleo protein superfood in Chocolate Banana Nut and I can confidently say that I have upped my smoothie game. I’ve mentioned this in the past, but I absolutely hate when protein powders have a chalk-like taste (as does everyone, I’m sure), but when I find a protein powder that actually tastes incredible, I obviously have to share it with you. I also don’t think I’ve heard of a single protein powder in this flavor, so that’s a win for sure.

Besides taste though, I love that the Rootz products are paleo-friendly so even though I’m not actually paleo (because #labelfree), the ingredients are crazy clean. This particular powder also contains completely undetectable greens like chlorella, spirulina, kale, broccoli and spinach. Now I don’t know about you, but I can guarantee I don’t actually eat all of those veggies on any given day, so the fact that I can throw them in my food in a delicious chocolate-y way is kind of amazing. *If you want 10% off at Rootz, there’s a coupon code at the bottom of this post 😉

Since this stuff has so many awesome benefits, I’ve been trying to find new ways to incorporate it into my diet because as much as I would love to have smoothies for breakfast, lunch and dinner, that’s probably not actually the most nutritious option. After browsing Pinterest for allllll the donut recipes, I kind of mushed some of them together to come up with this one. I’ll be honest, I did a pretty good job guys. These have the perfect amount of sweetness, stay moist for days when you keep them in the fridge, and are just the right size for when you want a little treat. Plus, they’re DONUTS which makes them feel extra special, y’know?

Chunky Monkey Protein Donuts

1 egg

1/4 cup peanut or almond butter

1 large ripe banana

2 1/2 tbsp melted coconut oil

3 tbsp coconut flour

2 tbsp Rootz Nutrition Paleo Chocolate Banana Nut Protein (or any protein powder)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of cinnamon

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (optional)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit and coat the bottom of a donut tin (mini or regular) with coconut oil.

2. In a large bowl, mash the banana and stir in the nut butter, melted coconut oil and egg until completely combined and mostly smooth. *You can put the ingredients in a blender if you’d prefer, but sometimes I like not having to do the extra dishes!

3. Add the coconut flour, protein powder, baking powder, vanilla and cinnamon, and stir until well-combined, but careful to not overmix! If you’d like, you can fold in the chocolate chips here, or use them later as a drizzle on top like I did.

4. Using a spoon (and a wet finger), fill each donut cavity about halfway with batter. I like to fill mine just slightly over half so they’re a bit bigger 😉 Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until dough is firm.

5. Let donuts cool for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. You’ll want to run a spoon along the edges to make sure the donut hasn’t stuck to the pan, then carefully spoon each donut onto a plate or wire rack to finish cooling.

6. If you’d like, you can melt the chocolate chips in a bowl with a touch of coconut oil (I’d heat them for about 20 seconds at a time), and then drizzle the melted chocolate over the donuts once completely cooled. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days and pop in the microwave for 15 seconds before eating!

If y’all want 10% off your next Rootz order, just use the code DANCINGFORDONUTS at checkout! Let me know if you try it, I know you’ll love it 🙂

xo Jordan