i was told that protein bars were a convenience but were not to be a major part of one's protein intake.
and that anythning under 200 calories counted as a snack, and anything over 300 counted as a meal.. not sure what that 200-300 range was supposed to be!!!!
Since are big on protein, there’s a lot of talk about protein supps and bars where I hang out too ….
Personally, there’s no commercial protein bar that I would dream of eating: questionable/crap ingredients (glycerin as a protein source???), too much sugar, chemicals, dubious labeling (that net carb stuff). Not to mention they taste nasty unless they’re loaded with sugar.
I make my own, using just four ingredients: chocolate protein powder, natural peanut butter, nonfat dried milk, and oatmeal. They’re fast and portable and you can cut them into whatever serving size suits your diet plan. Here’s the recipe, with the nutritional info, if anyone would like to try it. I make a batch every week.
Quote:
Protein Bars
2 cups protein powder of your choice (I’ve used chocolate Nitrotech, chocolate and vanilla MetRX, and chocolate Grow!)
1 cup uncooked oatmeal
1/2 cup nonfat dried milk
1/4 cup natural peanut butter, either smooth or chunky
Optional (see note below): nuts, dried fruit, chocolate chips, extra peanut butter
I use my Kitchenaid stand mixer with the flat beater to mix this, but you could mix and knead with your hands also.
Blend the three dry ingredients together. Blend in the peanut butter. Here’s the tricky part — add enough water to make a sticky mixture. The amount of the water depends of the brand of protein powder. For the ones I have tried (above), it’s between 3/4 and 1 cup of water. You don’t want it dry and crumbly, but not too wet and runny either. The consistency should be quite sticky. If you are not using a mixer, you’ll need to squeeze and knead this with your hands until it is blended.
Spray a 8x8 or 9x9 pan with PAM. Press the mixture into the pan evenly. I spray my hands with PAM also before I do this so it doesn’t stick. Refrigerate for a few hours and then cut into individual bars, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate.
I cut mine into six bars, but you could do eight if you wished. The nutritional info is based on six bars per pan, so you’d need to recalculate if you do eight.
Note: — if you are not too concerned about calories, you can add in extra peanut butter, dried fruit (raisins, dried cherries etc.), nuts, and/or chocolate chips. If you want to use any of these, just add them to the nutritional info and recalculate.
Sooner or Later -- my current fav PP is Biotest GROW! Low-Carb (chocolate, of course ) -- one scoop is 110 cal, 20g protein, 2g fat, 3g carbs. I have a scoop of it mixed in with my oatmeal every morning for breakfast -- it tastes like a warm chocolate oatmeal cookie!
meg you are a LIFESAVER!!!! the only protein bar i like is the EAS low carb ones with the rice krispie texture, but these will be MUCH better tasting and MUCH better for me.. and if i get 12 bars out of this, it'll be the PERFECT snack!!!!!
now if only i could get my kitchen aid from peachie who's holding onto it for dear life so that she can bake COOKIES for heaven's sake!!!!!!!
I made these today! I added a little bit of cocoa powder and some nuts! They are very good and will be a good substitute for my chocolate cravings. They have a stiff brownie batter consistency, are a bit chewy and better than the protein bars I bought...plus now I know what is really in them.
Oh, I'm so glad you like them! The trick really is getting the consistency right -- sticky but not too runny, you know? I haven't had a candy bar in so long that are a huge treat to me.
I'll pass along another favorite of mine for the carb watchers among us -- spaghetti squash in place of pasta. Here's a link to a wonderful mock Alfredo recipe http://www.drphil.com/weightloss/wei...ction=Homework and I also like it with a marinara sauce and a little real parmesan.
Robin -- I'm not a BFL expert (never did the plan) but from what I've read, BFL meals are about equal in carbs and protein (maybe about 20-25g each?). My bars would be a little low on carbs for you, if that's the case. What you could do is tweak the recipe to add either more NF dried milk or oatmeal, which would raise the carb count.
Hope that helps! If you're looking for BFL-type recipes, we have a sticky at the Ladies Who Lift forum called Bodybuilding Recipes that has a lot of great ideas.
Protein Bars ?
are big on protein, there’s a lot of talk about protein supps and bars where I hang out too …. 
