Chocolate Almond Protein bars

If you have been following my blog for awhile now you know that chocolate is like my BFF! I am always looking for healthy ways to get chocolate into my diet because lets face it, I can't live without it! Ha! This is one of my new favorite chocolate protein bar recipes! My kids love it as well! I made two batches because the first batch was gone within hours!

 

 

 

Ingredients (8 bars)

• 3/4 cup rolled oats
• 4 x 30 gram scoops chocolate flavoured whey protein
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup egg whites
• 1/4 cup mashed banana
• 2 tbsp maca root powder
• 1 tbsp raw cacao or cocoa powder (I used Navitas Naturals raw cacao, but you can use non-raw high quality cocoa too)
• 1/3 cup water
• a few drops of almond extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 375F and oil a 9x9 inch non-stick baking pan. (The hardest part about this recipe is getting the baked bars out of the pan, so do this bit well! I greased the inside of my pan with coconut oil.)
• Combine all wet ingredients in one bowl and all dry ingredients except for the almonds in another.
• Beat the wet ingredients with a fork or whisk until they form a smooth mixture, then pour into the combined dry ingredients.
• Fold in the almonds and mix one more time. Pour the batter into your greased pan and bake for 20 minutes. You may see small holes erupting with moisture on the surface of the bars when they're ready.
• Take the pan out of the oven and let it cool completely. Use a flipper and/or knife to separate the baked square from the edges of the pan.
• I've found that it's easiest to remove the bars by cutting a straight line down the middle, then using a metal flipper to lift one half out. Working from the line that you cut, wiggle the flipper underneath one half to loosen up the bottom, then lift it out. Do the same on the other side.
• Once both halves are out of the pan, cut them so that you have a total of 8 evenly sliced bars.
• Bars will keep well in the fridge for about 1 week. If you want to store them for longer, wrap each one in cling film, seal in a bag, and freeze. (of course they didn't last long enough in my house)
• Nutrition per serving (1 bar): 163 calories, 6g fat (1g saturated), 35mg cholesterol, 53mg sodium, 11g carbs, 2g fiber, 3g sugar, 16g protein.