Looking through the stores for that nutritional protein bar can be a hassle. Believe it or not, it is easier to make a bar at home, plus it cost you less than what you would pay at the store. It only takes a few minutes one day a week to make your bars with just a few ingredients in your kitchen.
Making a protein bar at home cut the time you may be spending reading the ingredients list along with macronutrient on the back of your protein bars. You can choose wholesome ingredients and avoid the high amount of sugar, fillers, harmful hydrogenated oils, and a whole list of preservatives you don't need. If you want a protein bar that is healthy, convenient and fills with good protein make yours at home in just a few minutes.
Stop spending all that money, stop guessing at the store, and most importantly stop sacrificing your health by going to that protein bar aisle again. It is easy, fun, cost effective, and you choose every ingredient that goes into your bar. So why don't we get started making a simple bar.
Your Four Steps To Making A Protein Bar
Ingredients You Will Need:
- 2 tbsp. of Raw Honey (where to buy) - 4 tbsp. of Almond Milk - A Hand full of chocolate chips - 1 1/2 Cups Trader Joe's Salted & Non-salted Peanut Butter - 16oz Trader Joe's Oven Toasted Old Fashion Organic Oats - 1/8 cup of Organic Coconut Flour (or less because it can be drying)
STEP 1 Select a protein powder and/or oatmeal, and any other type of flower to mix with your powder. I love using coconut powder, but it can be a little dry, so I only add a little bit to keep my bars moist. You can choose to add other flowers like almond or other grain-based flour and even quinoa flour for a healthy bar. Pre-heat your oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit and bake for 10 minutes. Afterward, allow the flower to cool down to room temperature before moving to the next step.
STEP 2 Pick a bind to keep your bar together; peanut butter is a cheap and healthy choice to use. I like to add a little honey for sweetness and mix it well with the peanut butter. After adding the peanut butter mix and mixing it all together, you can add a little milk or water for extra liquid to make sure the flower and bind mix like dough. You can use your hands, "I prefer to use my hands because it is easy to mix and pat down the mix." In the end, you will have a dough you can form bars with just your hands. Leaving your mix in the pan pat it down until it's all sticking together so it can bind completely.
STEP 3
Now cover the mix and place the pan in your freezer and leave it for 30 to 45 minutes. You will have solid bars just like at the store, and now you are ready to cut and store.
STEP 4
Now the fun part, shaping and storing your bars
Now that everything is mix and you have your dough shape your bars decide the portion sizes. I try to stick to a traditional shape and size of the bars you find at the store, but you can shape them any way that fit your workout. Take into account of the amount of the ingredients you are adding plus the nutrition in it all together. I make 16oz of oats along with everything else comes up to about 20oz of dough. I will usually separate my bars into about a dozen individual bars. Eat a few and store the rest for later snacks, That's all folks you're done!
Feel free to add toppings!
Toppings are optional; you can add more peanut butter and spread some coconut flakes on top. Chocolate is a favorite to melt and drizzle on top, try to get a cocoa chocolate bar with at least 70% cocoa. Darker chocolate contains more antioxidants and less sugar. You can add fruits and other healthy goodies of your choice.
The Peanut Butter & Chocolate bar is the first protein bar I have made from home, and I Love doing it. It was fun, easy, and a great pre-workout bar to get me going. Comment about your protein bars and leave tips to help each other out.
