Protein First: Peanut Butter Protein Bars

[T_Nation]

by Chris Shugart

Homemade Meal Replacement Bars

Ditch the junky grocery-store protein bars and make your own. Here's the easy recipe.

There’s nothing more disappointing than buying a protein bar, eating it, then reading the ingredient list. The typical grocery-store protein bar often contains soy protein, junk fats, and more processed sugar than you realize. You just overpaid for a candy bar with a little dog-food-grade protein added. Dammit.

That’s why when I want a meal replacement bar, I just make my own. This one is chocked full of quality protein (micellar casein and whey protein isolate) and other healthy ingredients like 100% cacao, which boosts nitric oxide levels among other benefits. As a bonus, this is a no-bake recipe you can whip up quickly.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vanilla MD Protein (Buy at Amazon)
• 1 cup natural peanut butter (almond butter works, too)
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 2 tablespoons almond flour
• 2 ounces 100% cacao baker’s chocolate (Buy at Amazon), + optional spoonful of baking Splenda (Buy at Amazon)
• 5-6 tablespoons unsweetened almond milk or whatever milk you like
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil or MCT oil (Buy at Amazon)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. Mix the dry ingredients together in a big bowl: MD Protein (Buy at Amazon), almond flour, and salt.
2. Add the wet ingredients minus the coconut/MCT oil: peanut butter, honey, almond milk, and vanilla extract. Stir until a thick batter forms.
3. Press the batter into a square pan lined with parchment paper.
4. Chop the baker’s chocolate bar into small pieces and top with the coconut or MCT oil. Melt in microwave for 30 seconds, stir, and nuke it again for about 30 seconds. At this point, you can stir in some Splenda or whatever sweetener you like or leave it extra dark.
5. Spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top. Optional: Hit it with a sprinkle of coarse salt.
6. Refrigerate until the chocolate sets, cut into six bars, and try not to eat them all in one day.

Calories & Macros

• Servings 6
• Calories 450
• Protein 24g
• Carbs 23g (5g fiber)
• Fat 28g

More protein recipes here: Protein Delights.

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[Chris_Shugart]

Here’s the same recipe but using almond butter, cacao powder, and chocolate MD Protein:

Great variation!

More info HERE.

[Chris_Shugart]

And here’s a twist on the same idea, but this one uses PB2 instead of full-fat peanut butter, so you can decrease the overall calories if needed.

Full recipe HERE.