Protein/energy bar recipes?

[SebringDon]

I've gotten hooked (in a good way) on protein bars as a replacement for candy bars as a sweet snack, once a day or so. I've tried some high-protein bars that are actually tasty, but I think they're a bit pricey and have too many ingredients I can't pronounce. 

I went looking on the web, but the ones I found were mostly not what I'd consider high-protein, often having as many carb and/or fat grams as protein. Also, most recipes don't even have nutritional information included.

So do you have a favorite protein or energy bar recipe you'd like to share? I sure would love to find some good replacements for those pricey, over-chemicalized versions in the fancy wrappers. 🙂

[fitmissjen]

I'm interested in this also!

holpfully we get some good ideas 🙂

[GrammyMax]

I would be interested too! 

[fitmissjen]

There are some good recipes online, but they dont seem to have that much protein in them.

But they look so, SO yummy

http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/healthy-recipes/3-protein-bars-you-can-make-home?page=2

http://dailyburn.com/life/recipes/homemade-protein-bar-recipes/

[HelenaFitbit]

I haven't really found a protein bar/energy ball/etc that isn't too rich, too sweet or tasting too much like Styrofoam. 

Are they supposed to be like this or am I being weird?

[hammersmn]

Energy “23” bars

2 cups quick oats

1 cup peanut butter (crunch or creamy)

1 cup honey or ¾ cup agave nectar

1 cup dark chocolate chips

1 cup whey protein powder

1 cup milled flaxseed

1 cup dried cranberries (or other dried fruit)

Mix all well together, press into lined 8x8 pan, refrigerate until set, cut into 36 pieces, wrap individually, refrigerate. My alterations: You can pretty much put anything you want in this for health reasons or energy. I use Skippy “Natural” peanut butter.

I have also added 1 cup unsalted sunflower nuts, ¾ cup unsweetened coconut flakes, 1 cup of a natural nut and berry mix (bought at Walmart) and upped the honey to hold it all together.

I usually double the recipe, cut the bars to the size that I like, and wrap them in aluminum foil. The keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks.

The original recipe has this nutritional information:

Nutrition information per serving:
Calories: 340
Carbohydrate: 45g
Cholesterol: 5mg
Dietary Fiber: 5g
Fat: 16g
Protein: 10g
Saturated Fat: 4.5g
Sodium: 70mg
Sugars: 31g
Trans fats: 0g

Daily nutritional values:
0% vitamin A
2% vitamin C
4% calcium
6% iron

[Tom_Murphy]

Google LOGAN BREAD

You may need to add more nuts to up the grams protein

I make this for backpakcing/camping trips.

[SebringDon]

After exercising a long period of Google-Fu, I decided to try my hand at a recipe, based on similarities between several I'd seen. It's a no-bake peanut-butter-chocolate-oat-almond bar.

I'll let you know tomorrow how they taste. 🙂

2 Tbsp PB2 peanut butter powder

100 grams Pure Protein 100% Whey Powder - Chocolate

1 Cup gluten-free rolled oats - chopped finer in Cuisinart

1/2 ounce chopped almonds

4 Tbsp water

Mix all dry ingredients. Add water. Mix. Makes a heavy, sticky batter. Divide and shape into four bars. Refrigerate for at least an hour. Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts:

Calories: 208

Calories from fat: 45

Total Fat: 5.4 grams

Saturated Fat: 1.3 grams

Cholesterol: 48 mg

Sodium: 137 mg

Pottasium: 181 mg

Carbohydrates: 21.5 grams

Dietary Fiber: 3.5 grams

Sugars 2.1 grams

Protein: 19.4 grams

[SebringDon]

Update on taste: Not a lot, actually. Perhaps I should let it warm a bit after taking it out of the fridge, as all the flavors were muted. Any recipe gurus out there have any recommendations for improving that recipe?

[Dominique]

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@SebringDon wrote:

So do you have a favorite protein or energy bar recipe you'd like to share? I sure would love to find some good replacements for those pricey, over-chemicalized versions in the fancy wrappers. 🙂

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@SebringDon: after I posted a report on my experiment with a home-made "Quest-like" protein bar, I saw your post from last January. The software that runs the community forums is really convenient for bringing together related topics. So yes, I’m happy to share my recipe, just click on the above link 

[Dominique]

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@HelenaFitbit wrote:

I haven't really found a protein bar/energy ball/etc that isn't too rich, too sweet or tasting too much like Styrofoam. 

---

@HelenaFitbit: Quest bars (and probably most other "healthy" bars) are sweetened with erythritol, sucralose or Stevia. All noncaloric sweeteners that are way sweeter than sugar. No wonder they’re too sweet for you. My home-made protein bars do not include any such sweeteners: all the sweetness they may have comes from the whey protein or the soluble corn fiber. Maybe they would suit your taste better.

[LittleJulie]

I make No-Bake Protein Bars for my husband and friends - I found the recipe in Oxygen Fitness and they love them. They are really easy to make too

Serving 6

2 cups quick-cook oats

1/2 cup natural peanut butter

4 scoops vanilla protein powder

1tbsp ground flaxseed

1/2 cup water

Optional ingredients

1 tsp cocoa powder

Dried fruit

Raw maple syrup or honey (drizzle on top of pressed dough when putting in the freezer)

1. Line a loaf dish with parchment paper

2. Kneed all ingredients in a bowl

3. Spread dough into dish, pressing down to flatten. Use a spatula to smooth out the surface. freeze for 30 minutes. cut into 6 large bars. Serve and refrigerate the rest.

Nutrients per serving

calories:310, total fats:13g, saturated fat:2g, trans fat: 0g, cholesterol:25mg, sodium: 30mg, total carbohydrates:28g. dietary fiber:5g. sugars: 5g. Protein: 22g Iron: 2mg

LJ