Food for Fuel: Chocolate Chip Protein Bars
I ran yesterday but didn’t have time to blog about it. It went slightly better but not spectacularly so. You didn’t miss much. Today I went to the gym with the intention to lift weights for an hour and then go to the Mat Pilates class. I lifted for 45 minutes and decided I wanted to do cardio, so I jumped on the elliptical and felt so good that I stayed on for 30 minutes and was a little late to the class. I’m glad I did that because I got bored and left the class early. I was at the gym for a very long time today.
Back on topic. I’m excited about this recipe. I’ve been experimenting with homemade protein bars because I eat a Kashi or other kind of granola bar almost every day at work so that I can pack it easily and make it through to a 9 PM dinner without passing out. It’s kind of an expensive habit.
I found the original recipe on Cookie Madness, of all places. I changed things and I’m going to post my recipe, but be sure to check out the linked recipe as well because she gives lots of alternative suggestions.
The original recipe calls for more yogurt and peanut butter. I was low on both and added the applesauce to make up the difference. I couldn’t taste the peanut butter, so next time I would increase it to 1/2 cup or just use applesauce.
Chocolate Chip Protein Bars
1 cup soy protein powder
1/2 cup buckwheat flour (because I actually had it, otherwise I would use whole wheat)
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup wheat bran
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup Sun Crystals (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350*. Mix together protein powder, flour, oats, wheat bran, cinnamon, salt, and Sun Crystals. Stir in chocolate chips.
In a separate bowl, mix together yogurt, applesauce, peanut butter, and vanilla until blended. Pour wet mixture into dry mixture and stir to combine. Mixture will be very thick.
Spray a 9 x 13 baking pan with cooking spray. Spread mixture into pan. Bake for 15 minutes. Cut into bars of any size. Place on baking sheet and bake for another 12-15 minutes.
These are delicious and taste a bit like cookies. I’m considering making them healthier by subbing in nuts and dried fruit for the chocolate chips. I cut them into varying sizes so that I could choose them by hunger level. MSB likes them too.
Do you make your own protein or granola bars? Have a recipe for me to try?
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i am far too lazy to make my own. props to you!
I’ve made granola bars, but they’re never very tasty. Good for basic snacking, but not something I’d give out as a gift. But I’d much rather make my own than buy the packaged ones – if just to create less wrapper-trash. I might play around with this recipe..thanks for the tip.
Those look good. I really ought to make my own bars. It would give me an excuse to bake, and they are great for a snack to stash in your bag in case you get stuck somewhere and get really hungry.
I used to make my own granola bars pretty frequently, but I haven’t made them for a while. They were pretty good…it’s a recipe on Kath’s page. But if these taste a bit like cookies, I may need to give them a try!