Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Homemade Protein Bars

My husband likes to go to the gym and lift heavy things. In the past he liked to stay fueled with protein bars which cost about $1 each IF I found them on sale. They were very filling for him, and I didn't mind the little splurge for such a hard working man who asks for nothing. But as time has gone on and we looked at our budget, spending an extra $30 per month on protein bars seemed completely ridiculous.

So I decided to try to make similar bars for my husband that could replace their more expensive counterparts. First, I needed a food processor. I went to Kohls and got this mini one for only $10 with sales and coupons. And it works great!
Then I gathered the supplies I thought I'd need to make a yummy protein bar. Mind you, I didn't follow a recipe here, and instead stumbled on a super yummy one of my own.
First, I used my food processor to chop up (approximately):
-2 cups of mixed nuts (hazelnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, brazil nuts) which I bought at Aldi
-3/4 cup walnuts (which are especially healthy for men)
-1/2 cup chocolate chips
Then I mixed this all together in a big bowl with (approximately):
-2.5 cups Kashi protein cereal (I used the cinnamon flavored one)
-1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
-1 tsp cinnamon
In a separate bowl, I mixed together approximately 3/4 cup Coconut oil and 1/2 cup honey (I used whipped honey). I heat it up until liquified and poured slowly to mix into the dry mixture. I then stirred this all together until the dry mixture was uniformly coated.

Then I spread and pressed the mixture into an oiled pan
I left it to refrigerate until it was completely chilled and hardened. Then I cut it up and wrapped them for my husband to grab them and go. Cold storage is best
I may add some dry quinoa next time for additional protein, and perhaps more nuts. But these turned out so yummy I might not change the recipe at all!

4 comments:

  1. Looks yummy! I'm going to have to try these out for my husband. :D

    Have a wonderfully blessed day!

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  2. This is such a great idea! Brandon does the same thing and I would love to be able to get him hooked on a homemade substitute. We've been moving towards cutting out preservatives and processed foods from out diet so anything I can make from scratch the better :) you didn't say what your husband thought though!

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    2. That is another reason I decided to make these! I know what is in them and don't have to worry that there is anything dangerous in them. my husband was all about it, because he loves to save money. But he said they are very good and very filling. And again, even more protein could be easily added: more nuts, a little whey protein powder, quinoa, steel cut oats, etc.

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