About a month ago I had one of those ugggh moments.
A good friend of mine had excitedly shared a new idea for on-the-go protein bars — something low in sugar, high in protein, and satisfyingly kid-friendly.
Yet, I snubbed her idea, passing it off as having too much sugar.
The reality was, I didn’t really listen to her plan as I should have.
The next week, when she visited again to pick up her milk share at our home, she brought me a sample of her newly concocted protein bar.
Boy, was it good!
After hearing about the ingredients she used, I promptly ate my words. This was an amazing protein bar without much sugar at all!
The texture was smooth and not sticky, and it stayed together even without dates.
My friend Debbie had created a protein bar masterpiece.
So, I ate my humble pie, asked for forgiveness, and requested to borrow her idea and share this wonderful creation with you all.
Thank God for faithful friends who joyfully forgive and are more than happy to share. 😉
Here’s my adapted version of her protein bars. I hope you love them as much as I do!
Debbie's Grain-Free Protein Bars
This is an amazing protein bar without much sugar. The texture is smooth and not sticky, and it stays together even without dates. You'll love this on-the-go snack!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1/2 cup raw honey
- 3 organic or pastured egg whites
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 tablespoons sustainably-sourced gelatin (certified glyphosate-free)
- 3/4 cup pure water
- 3 cups raw almonds preferably soaked*
- 2 cups raw cashews preferably soaked*
- 1-1/2 cup raw pumpkin seeds preferably soaked*
- 1-1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds preferably soaked*
- 1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
- 1 tablespoon lemon zest from approximately 1 lemon
- 3/4 cup chocolate chips or no-sugar, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips**
Instructions
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Grease a 9" x 13" glass dish with coconut oil.
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Begin by making the marshmallow binder for the protein bars.
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Place maple syrup, honey, egg whites, and vanilla extract in your mixer.
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Whip or beat on high until gentle peaks form -- this should take around five to eight minutes, depending on your mixer.
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While the egg mixture is whipping, grind all of the nuts, seeds, and coconut shreds into a semi-coarse texture in a food processor or blender and mix together in a large bowl.
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I just used a mixture of all the soaked nuts I had on hand. Feel free to experiment!
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Add lemon peel and chocolate chips, and mix until combined.
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Set aside.
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Heat water over medium heat while slowing adding gelatin.
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Once the gelatin has completely dissolved, remove from heat.
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When the egg mixture has begun to peak, slowly add gelatin water while continuing to whip.
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Allow to mix for another five to eight minutes, until the mixture has begun to thicken up.
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Once egg/gelatin mixture is thickened, quickly combine with nut/seed mixture and mix until all ingredients are evenly distributed.
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Pour into the greased dish and refrigerate overnight.
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In the morning, you will have a great on-the-go or simply anytime protein snack!
Recipe Notes
- *Learn how to soak nuts and seeds here.
- **We like these these no-sugar, stevia-sweetened chocolate chips.
- Feel free to experiment with the sweeteners. I find that 1/3 cup of both maple syrup and honey works best for my palate, but others in my home like a bit more. 😉
- This recipe is quite flexible, so you can even just use entirely honey, or entirely maple syrup. Also, if you want to omit the chocolate, I would probably omit the lemon peel as well.
Do you find that many bar recipes are just too high in sugar? Does this look like a lovely, on-the-go snack?
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A whole cup of sweetener seems like a lot for this recipe. Does it really need that much? Did you try it with only 1/2 a cup?
This recipe has about 1+1/2 Tbsp of sweetener per cup.
This recipe is for a huge batch of bars- I tend to not do things in small quantities any more with 5 children. : ) You could definitely cut down on sugar- I usually use 1/2 to 2/3 cup sugar total, however, the recipe called for a bit more. Make it with less and see how it works for you. Would love to hear your results.
I like the idea! But am I ignorant of something to be wary of the raw egg whites? And I presume the lemon is just for flavor? What about using essential oils instead?
: ) I understand about the raw egg whites. I used to have a concern, but we get our eggs from our pastured hens, so I no longer worry about it. There is some heat added to the egg whites from the warmed gelatin and water, which may or may not neutralize the concern you may have. At the end of the day, I think as long as you have quality pastured eggs, you still need to do what you are most comfortable with for you and your family. Blessings!
What is the benefits of soaking the nots and seeds?
Traditional Cooking School put out a post about this- so that I do not reinvent the wheel- here is a link to great thoughts on your question.
https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2009/12/02/how-and-why-to-soak-and-dehydrate-nuts-and-seeds/
These sound good! I’d like to try them but am following THM and use Truvia, xylitol and/or stevia. Do you have any idea how I could substitute these?
Thanks!
Sure. I am not positive of the exact substitution of sugar to stevia, but I would substitute the proper amount of stevia in place of the maple syrup/honey in the marshmallow mixture (I know stevia can be quite strong, so in my opinion, less is always more with it). Then just use the marshmallow binder as in the recipe above. If I remember correctly, when once perusing through THM, I think there is a marshmallow recipe in there with the sweet mix or stevia? If so, maybe you might want to try that. I would love to hear how it turns out. : )
Try to Use organic coconut blossom sugar..1 teaspoon is only 4 grams compared to regular sugar of 16 grams a tsp. I’m prediabetic n this,recipe is loaded w too much sugar for diabetics.I will try the recipe.
Haven’t heard of that. Thanks for putting it on my radar. I use coconut sugar, but not coconut blossom sugar- is it the same thing?
Yes – same thing 🙂 Coconut sugar is taken from the flower blossom, not from the coconut itself.
Do you think these would freeze well??
I do not see why not. We eat them too fast to have any left over to freeze. If you try, I would love to hear!!!
This might seem a silly question but still thought I’d ask – Are the nuts soaked and dehydrated, or just soaked?
I would like to know the same thing. ????
Me too, as I don’t have a dehydrator. If the nuts are soaked and not dehydrated, how long would the bars keep?
I soak the nuts and then dehydrate them. : ))) Hope that helps and sorry if there was confusion.
Blessings!
Is there a way to dehydrate the nuts in the oven? If so, at what temperature and for how long?
Hi Kim! Sorry for the late response. This post gives instructions on how to dehydrate nuts in the oven: https://traditionalcookingschool.com/2009/12/02/how-and-why-to-soak-and-dehydrate-nuts-and-seeds/ You’ll want to keep an eye on them and keep checking them for crispy-ness. It may take up to 24 hours (typical time in the dehydrator), but probably less since you’d be dehydrating them at a higher temp than in the actual dehydrator. Hope that helps 🙂
How long will these keep and would they keep out of the fridge for a while with having raw egg whites in them? Looks like a great recipe!
Yes, how long do these bars keep?