Customizable Protein Bars
This recipe is super simple. I love it because you can customize it to include what you want, your tastes or anything in your kitchen. This time, I used dried cranberries, chia seeds and unsweetened coconut & protein. It’s also delicious with raisins, dark chocolate chips, dried pineapple, apricot or mango…
Ingredients:
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 Tbs coconut sugar or granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup almond milk (or another plant based milk)
- 2 Tbs. coconut oil or butter from grass fed cow
- 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup unsweetened coconutflakes
- 2 scoops protein powder
- 1 Tbs. chia seeds
- Optional: nuts, dried fruit, dark chocolate chips
Directions: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper (for easy clean up). Mix dry ingredients. In separate bowl, beat eggs and milk. Add other wet ingredients. Add wet ingredients to the dry / oat mixture. Let stand 20 minutes. Pour into parchment lined baking dish. Sprinkle coconut flakes on top. Bake 30-45 minutes until golden brown on edges.
Tip: Using an 8×8″ pan makes the bars more moist aka cake / bread like. Using a larger pan such as an 9×12″ pan makes them thinner, more crisp. 🙂 Whichever you prefer.
For heartier Bars, for training, biking, skiing, hiking or times when you want more sustainable energy, try adding nuts and dried fruit (I love adding almonds, walnuts, chopped dates, dried apricots*, raisins, etc. for more calories and natural sugar. *Make sure the dried fruit you purchase does not contain sulfur.
For Dessert type bars, add your favorite sweets such as dark chocolate 🙂
