I’ve made my own protein bars for quite a while now and have constantly tried to improve them. This is the latest iteration (and of course the best in my opinion) that tastes really good (again, in my opinion) and are quite energy/protein efficient. My goal was to get 20 grams of protein per serving while keeping the total energy to less than 200 kCals and minimizing the amount of sugar. Another advantage with this recipe is that it doesn’t need any baking, just mix everything, cover with chocolate and put in the fridge to set. The result is a really chocolaty, fluffy and crumbly bar with a little bit of crunch that’s the perfect complement to a cup of coffee.
The trick is to use a casein-based protein powder that thickens and keeps the base together. The more it thickens the better; Body Science Casein, Eiselt Double Pro (a whey and casein blend) and Fairing Sloow works really well while other pure casein powders aren’t nearly as good (Star Nutrition Night-Pro, for example). Whey protein don’t thicken like casein does so I’d imagine they don’t work either, haven’t really tried though.
Ingredients (8 servings)
- 80g natural peanut butter
- 80g oatmeal
- 160g casein based protein powder (chocolate flavour)
- 45g dark chocolate, minimum 65%
- 275g water
How to do it
- Weigh the peanut butter, oatmeal and protein powder and put into a large bowl
- Start melting the cholocate in a bowl in a water bath (or in a micro wave oven)
- Mix the ingredients carefully with your hands so that there’s no lumps of peanut butter
- Incorporate the water gradually and keep working the mixture, don’t add any more water when the mixture sticks and you can’t finely separate it any more
- Make a large cylinder of the mixture and flatten it to a rectangle in a deep dish covered in plastic foil, approximately 2.5 cm thick. Pour over and spread out the melted chocolate
- Put in the fridge, cover with more plastic foil once the chocolate has set
Per serving: 21.7g protein, 10.4g carbohydrates, 7.4g fat, 200.7 kcal energy
