Homemade protein bars

This recipe is from the Jan/Feb 2009 issue of Clean Eating Magazine, and I made it on a whim one day when I realized I had all the ingredients and thought, "Why not?" The H and I are always hunting for a quick portable snack before a run or in between meals, and these sounded perfect. The idea of making my own protein bars at home really intrigued me in terms of the clean aspect as well as the cost savings.

Nutty Maple-Cinnamon Bars

Serves 6

Prep time: 25min

1 cup rolled oats, divided

3 Tbsp unsalted almonds (I coarsely chopped these)

4 scoops vanilla protein powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

4 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Olive oil cooking spray

1. Preheat oven to 350*

2. In a blender, process 1/2 cup oats into oat flour. In a large bowl, stir together oat flour, remaining 1/2 cup oats, almonds, protein powder, cinnamon, and salt. Combine applesauce, vanilla and maple syrup with dry ingredients; mix thoroughly.

3. Cut 6 squares of aluminum foil into 4x8in pieces (eyeball it). Lightly coat each piece with cooking spray. Spoon out equal portions of mixture onto each square, and roll into a bar shape. Fold ends over to prevent the filling from leaking. You can flatten them out a bit to avoid tube-shaped bars.

4. Bake foil-wrapped bars on a baking sheet in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes. Store leftovers in the fridge.

The H loved these. I think I had ONE before he gobbled the rest! When mine cooled, I trimmed the ends to look neater and also so they'd fit into my container in the fridge. These were great with a glass of milk. My next goal is to make them using chocolate protein powder, since that's what we have more of, and maybe playing with almond extract and some dried cherries.

NUTRITION INFORMATION:

per bar

Calories: 213

Sat. fat: 1g

Monounsat. fat: 2g

Polyunsat. fat: 1g

Total fat: 4g

Carbs: 29g

Fiber: 3g

Sugars: 14g

Protein: 15g

Sodium: 189mg

Cholesterol: 23mg